Of the Sky
by auspizien
Summary: AU Modern Day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji. For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...
1. Chapter 1

Title: Of The Sky

Author: auspizien

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

* * *

Chapter 1

"If you were born without wings,

do nothing to prevent them from growing."

- Coco Chanel

Sanji looked up at the ceiling, his vision blurry. Through the haze he could see the fuzzy shape of a light shining down on him and the movement of something to his right. He moved to sit up and found himself restrained. Jerking his leg, he found them both bound securely, as were his arms, and the rest of his body. Leather straps tightly secured him to the table, even a strap across his forehead and chin kept him from moving his head.

Panic began to rise and he tugged desperately at his restrained wrists – the leather merely cutting deeper – the feeling of warmth trickling down his arm confirmed that the had broken skin. It took him only a moment to realize that it had finally happened; it was his turn.

"Let me go! Let me the fuck go!" Sanji yelled at the two men looking down at him, "I'll chew through this fucking leather and kill you!" He jerked his wrists roughly, "Fucking let me go!"

One man roughly grabbed his jaw, thumb and fingers painfully digging into his cheeks, he clamped his mouth shut tight, unwilling to comply, even as the pain increased.

"Open your mouth, you little cunt."

Sanji shook his head as much as the straps would let him – gritting his teeth – refusing to let them have their way.

Something cold was pressed against his neck, and there was the click of a button being pressed before he opened his mouth and screamed – pain lashing down his veins – his body desperately trying to jerk away from the pain, but was lashed down tight by the leather.

When the electrical current was shut off he couldn't find the energy to fight off the hand which grabbed his jaw tightly and forced his mouth open. He barely was able to concentrate on what the other man was doing. The edges of his vision blackening as he was slowly losing consciousness.

A plastic tube was shoved into his mouth and partially down his throat and he thrashed, struggling desperately to spit out. His body still wasn't responding; after the shock, and how weak he already was, his fight was useless. Sanji took rapid breathes in through his nose, still trying to gag up the plastic.

Through his peripheral he could see one of the men pick up a large needle, pushing the syringe until a few drops of liquid oozed from the top. He flicked it a couple times before setting it down and picking up another, repeating the routine. The other man was busy checking through all the needles already secured into Sanji's arms as well as the intra venous sacks hanging around him.

Sanji's eyes widened as he stared down at the dozen or so IVs that were injected into him. Each tube had a different colour solution within them; from neon greens to vibrant blues, blood reds and bright oranges, to supple purples and pasty blacks. All were slowly draining from the intra venous sacks hanging around him and into his body. He tried another desperate jerk, but none of the needles were even close to being dislodged.

The man returned with a large beaker of murky white solution and began to pour it down the tube, when Sanji felt it begin to trickle down his throat he renewed his efforts. Trying desperately to cough up the tube only made it worse, and it wasn't long till he was unable to draw any air into his lungs. The liquid was cutting off all oxygen, he thrashed as stark panic began to claw at his innards. He couldn't die. Not like this. Tears of exertion poured from his eyes and pain pierced his chest as it was deprived of needed oxygen.

His eyes rolled back into his head, darkness engulfing his vision, just as the tube was roughly torn out of his mouth. He was left to gag on the horrible tasting liquid before he was completely claimed by unconsciousness.

~X~

Sanji was snapped awake by the feeling of his shoulder colliding with the stone floor, his lethargic body sliding uselessly on the rock as his skin was easily ripped. He lay there, blood flowing from his wounds, limbs unresponsive and his eyes barely focusing ahead of him.

There was the clanging of metal and click of the lock. So, he was back in his cell?

The stone was cold against his skin, but it helped numb the throb of his wounds. He let out a tiny sigh and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds that had lulled him to sleep for the past four years. The sounds of fellow captives in their cells; screaming out as nightmares shook them awake, or pained cries as they under went transformations or failed tests.

Shuddering breathes; so loud in the dank cells that they echoed easily. Each man, woman and child – huddled alone in their cell – nervous exhales wracking their frames as they wondered when they'd be taken for testing. Each person listening for the dreaded foot falls of a man walking down the hallway, praying to whatever god they had that they would not be chosen.

The screams from upper floors echoed down as other captives were tortured, or tested on – it was always difficult to tell which was which. Machines constantly whirring up above, a light hum that was ever constant and sickeningly reassuring that everything was the same as when you had gone to sleep the night before.

Sanji vaguely wondered what time it was. Or what day. Month? Year? It had been four winters, that he knew for sure. The lower cells hardly defended against the temperatures of the world outside. How he desperately wished to go outside, just one more time. Then he would easily accept death. He tried to open his eyes and found them too heavy to follow his command.

It was then that he felt it; his breathing was quiet and small, his body barely moving with each tiny breath, his heart beats; that were so loud in his ears, were so tortuously slow, and his body was the best it ever felt, completely relaxed, devoid of pain.

Was this death?

A small, weak sob wracked his body, his regrets slowly piling up in his mind. There was so much he had yet to do, wanted to do. And this was it? The end? Goodbye? A regretful tear slide from his closed eyes.

His old life had seemed so dull – too normal. And there had been a time when he'd have given anything to have adventure. But now, that life seemed truly the best gift of all, and he'd give his hands, his legs – anything – just to go back for one more day. One last day to walk down the sidewalk of busy suburbia, bump into fellow pedestrians, smell the noxious gas of passing motorists, go for coffee at the local café. Things that he had taken for granted were now the utmost luxury.

Sanji let out a heavy sigh and shifted ever-so-slightly, trying to ease some of the pressure on his bloody shoulder. A sharp twinge of pain shot up his back and he grunted quietly. Seemed like he'd also injured his back somewhat. He tried moving again to ease both back and arm, but the pain only doubled.

His eyes snapped open, and he took in a shuddering gasp, hand gripping at the skin just above where his heart should be. Each thump he felt in his chest felt like it was pumping something foreign into his body, a hot liquid that burnt his insides. Spreading farther with every beat of his heart. As he stared at his arm and he could _see_ each beat of his heart, the skin pulsating.

His body emanated pain, skin feeling like it was being torn away from his muscle, and his bones aching, as though each one was being put under incredible pressure. His spine and shoulders ached the most, the bones feeling like they were about to break.

Barely managing to pull himself up onto his hands and knees, he panted with exertion as he stared at the ground in horror, body trembling. There was something inside him that wasn't him. That wasn't supposed to be there. It felt so inhuman and wrong he wanted to claw at his skin until it left him. Whatever he had ingested – whatever that liquid was – it wasn't meant to be in a human.

Electric fire pumped through his veins reaching every part of his body. It corroded his bones, gnawing and chewing on them like a starving mutt; it wound itself into his muscles, squirming and nestling deep like slimy maggots, and his skin began to sizzle and itch, as though he was being cooked alive. With each passing second it fused deeper into his body, and as Sanji felt it begin to pierce his organs he doubled over and retched violently.

Barely supported by his elbows, he held himself up, body quivering, the foul taste of acid in his mouth as he took in deep, shuddering gasps. His body was covered in a heavy sheen of sweat, and a thick strand of the white saliva infused concoction trailed from his mouth. Blinking several times, he focused on a black stone on the floor, trying to gather his thoughts.

After vomiting, the pain had seemed to diminish somewhat, and he was able to take in much larger and calmer breathes. His whole body continued to throb with pain, but it was bearable. Just as he felt reassured that the worst had passed and that he had survived the bastardized experiment – a small tingling could be felt at the base of his spine.

It slowly travelled up his spine becoming more painful the higher it climbed, inching further and further up each vertebrae, the pain growing the further it travelled. It reached the base of his neck and a sudden pain lanced through his head; with a final pain riddled scream he slammed his head forward on the cold floor, knocking himself unconscious.

~X~

Sanji blinked tiredly, staring at the filth coated cement floor that he was so accustomed to seeing. After years of waking up and seeing that same floor it had become a somewhat bittersweet sight. Part of him took comfort in the notion that he was still in his cage and alive, and he hadn't been dragged off to be tested on, but another part mourned the sight, knowing that he was still trapped inside the dank hell and that he hadn't managed to die during the night.

As he moved to push himself up, he froze. He felt different, his entire body felt different. The pain he had experienced the night before and all the wounds that had accumulated felt better. He looked down at his arm and gasped.

He stared down at his once malnourished, skeletal arms that seemed to have undergone fast muscle growth overnight. Skin looking healthier than it had in years, muscle which had long ago deteriorated had formed again and he found himself filled with an inexplainable energy.

Sanji pushed himself onto his feet staring down at his body which looked like it had before he had been brought here – looking as strong and healthy as it had 4 years ago. Testing out his arms and legs he found movement to be an easy task where as before walking had been somewhat of a challenge. He let out a laugh of both amazement and disbelief.

He twisted and felt something twinge on his back; like a muscle that was stiff, or a scab that had just formed. Sanji reached back tentatively and touched his shoulder, freezing in horror as his hand met the unusual lump that should not have been there. It was soft, but even the light pressure he put on it hurt. As his hands explored as much as he could with his arms bent backwards he soon discovered two bulbs that had grown until they covered his back entirely, each one taking up half the expanse.

With each movement he could feel the skin stretching and whatever was inside seemed to squirm and writhe with life. Whatever that was on his back – that had grown overnight – wanted out. His stomach began to tighten at the feeling and he soon found himself once more on the floor, coughing up the remnants of gastric acid in his stomach. Besides that, his stomach remained empty, and he found himself dry-heaving.

The sensation slowly passed, but he remained on his hands and knees, head beginning to swim from nausea and pain. Frowning, he blinked as he concentrated his focus on the floor. Like a piece of gum stretched too far, he could feel the skin on his back slowly give out. The seconds ticked by, seeming like hours, as he bit his lip waiting for the moment.

In a sudden jerk, the skin tore, ripping apart and falling away from his back, as the two things emerged from his back. A liquid that had been in the bulbs splattered out, drenching him and everything around him. He remained curled up on his knees, biting his lip as pain ripped through his body. His entire back stung, now raw and bloody from having all the skin torn away.

He heard voices and struggled to raise his head to look up the two scientist out in the hall, one with a camera and the other, a clipboard. They were muttering to each other as one was furiously scribbling away on his clipboard.

"Bastards." He managed through gritted teeth.

He remained on his hands and knees, body shaking in exertion and pain, drawing in shaking breathes. Whatever it was behind him, he could feel them, like any other part of his body. The joints felt cramped and he could feel the cold air of the cell on them.

Casting a tentative look over his shoulder he froze.

The appendage came into his vision; a large, grotesque wing that was easily larger than himself, was slightly expanded, and with a quick glance to his left he saw the other matching one. The large expanses were covered in feathers that were drenched in a sticky liquid. The same liquid which was currently running down his back, and that had been in those weird pods.

Sanji tentatively imagined stretching them and on cue they followed his command. Both wings, which had before been folded behind him, stretched up and out high above. Spanning as much as they could in the cramped cell, the feathers on the wings having strands of the liquid strung between them, the sticky substance dripping from some.

He flapped them experimentally, flicking some of the substance off of them. With a few more flaps the wings looked remarkably cleaner – although they still had a thin layer of the pink goo – and they appeared to be a brilliant white underneath.

Sanji pushed himself to his feet – a little unsteadily due to the sudden weight ratio that was affecting his body – but nonetheless upright, before casting a glare to the men outside who watched him seriously. The one had completely forgotten his clipboard as he watched Sanji with something close to awe. He ignored them and turned his attention back to the wings.

The crowns of his wings were easily over his head, and the tails dragged lightly on the ground. He reached out tentatively, touching one. The feathers felt natural, albeit wet and sticky, and his mind felt the touch to the wing. As he continued to massage the feathers and the muscles in the wing the pain slowly started ebbing from his body and he found himself becoming calmer.

He pulled his hand away sharply, shaking his head lightly, it was too weird, trying to process these sudden feelings. In his mind he had always known each appendage with a casually familiarity, but now... Now his brain processed these sudden attachments as if they had always been present. His nervous system seemed to have expanded, and it felt all too natural. A fact that was unnerving.

The cage opened with a clang and two Blugory entered – the official bodyguards and muscle of Impel Down – they came toward Sanji, their blue cloaks swishing ominously and their electric wands swinging menacingly from their belts. Sanji took a step back as they neared.

It seemed the experiment had been a success; but now where was he being taken?

A hand roughly gripped his wing, and he hissed sharply at the Blugory, before one of the sharp electric wands was brought down sharply on his arm, giving him a burn. He struggled further, trying to wrestle out of the men's grips, until a stronger current hit him and left his muscles weak and spasming.

Sanji was bodily dragged out of his cell and off down the hall. He was vaguely aware of his surroundings as he was carted off, but much of his thoughts were still a jumbled mess from the electric shock. It was like attempting to put together something that kept jumping and moving around and he could never hold on to one piece for long.

All the hallways looked similar, metal siding that had gotten blackened and tarnished with blood over the years, and occasionally there was a door behind which screams were partially heard. Sanji could only imagine the testing being done to others in this wretched place.

They enter a rickety elevator that reminded him of something out of a horror movie and he giggled. The shock still seemed to be affecting him somewhat because he found that once he started he couldn't quite stop. This whole place was like a horror film, worse than any he had seen by far, but the fear that had engulfed him body and mind upon first arrival was now gone. After months of enduring fear that was physically painful, everyone eventually succumbed to the knowledge that they would eventually die within these walls. His time had unfortunately not come yet.

As the metal grates slide closed the elevator rose toward the higher levels and Sanji's giggles finally ceased. And he just hung limp like a doll in the men's arms as they awaited to reach the desired floor. With a sharp ding and a jolt they came to a stop, and the sliding of steel on steel rung out as the doors opened once more.

Sanji was dragged along several more dazingly similar hallways until he was brought to a rusty door which looked like all the rest labelled; 5907. It was unlocked and he was hastily brought inside.

He was deposited on the floor and continued to stare off into the distance, his thoughts still not quite wanting to return to any semblance of order. A sharp clack and a cold tightness around his ankles brought everything back together in full clarity far too quickly. Sanji stood immediately and glowered menacingly at the men who were coming toward him with cuffs for his hands and neck.

It seemed their experiment had worked, did that mean this was his new room, where the real testing would now begin. One man brandished a long wand, the end crackling with electricity. Sanji immediately shied away from it out of pure animal instinct of not wanting to experience the pain again.

When the men attempted to cuff him he reluctantly let them as he watched the wand with a nervous eye. The men finished and back away as Sanji snarled angrily, baring his teeth and lashing out at them with his wings. They backed away rather quickly and Sanji smirked lightly.

The chains jerked to life and were pulled taught; his arms were stretched up and at an angle so his entire body was exposed. His wings swished back and forth ominously behind him as he awaited whatever they had planned.

A sudden icy blast hit him from behind, water spraying and washing away all traces of the weird goo from his wings and back, as well as the blood that had been due to his torn skin. The power of the spray stung his sensitive wounds and he jerked angrily, trying to arch away from the source of his pain. He hissed as they seemed to sense his discomfort and only turned it up stronger, blasting the cold water at his injured skin. His teeth dug sharply into his lip, blood running down his jaw.

His back soon became numb and he could hardly feel the pain nor the icy water, and he just let himself hang from the chains as they cleaned any and all filth away from his body. The main blasts shifted to his wings and Sanji watched the pink tinged water swirl around his feet and flow away to go down a drain.

The spray eventually stopped and he was unshackled. He was thrown a pair of clean pants which he hastily put on before he was immediately shackled again; hands, feet, neck and wings. A Blugory grabbed the chain attached to his neck and lead him out of the room like a dog. He followed reluctantly knowing that if he struggled he'd just be shocked and potentially strangled by the chain on his neck.

There was only so much struggling he could do before it wore himself out. And while it was rewarding to make them have to work every step of the way to make him do what they wanted; he had just received a bath and clean clothes, things that he hadn't seen for nearly 4 years. So just this once he was going to be somewhat obedient.

As he was guided down various hallways and up stairways, he actually took in everything. It was the first time he had been so far away from his cell in years. Mostly he had just been taken to the testing floors where he'd been given shots and weird experimental foods before being sent back. But up here, even the air smelt cleaner.

They stopped outside a pair of large double doors. The guard punched in a series of numbers, and then air hissed out from the door, before a series of mechanical locks clicked, and the doors swung open revealing a room like nothing he'd ever seen.

It had to at least be the size of a couple football fields, and the roof was almost just as high. It made him wonder again how big this facility really was. He entered and noticed that he was not alone; other Blugory stood around at other test subjects watching them with wands raised at the ready.

There was an area not far off that looked like an equestrian riding course and a horse was making its way through it – or what appeared to be a horse. On closer inspection the horses head was replaced with the torso of a man. Sanji stood frozen on the spot as he stared at the weird creation.

Was this the result of some of the experiments?

He looked around and spotted a man whose knees bent the opposite way. A woman's face on a lionesses body. A leopard with bipedal abilities. A wolf with anthropomorphic features. A bull with some transplanted human limbs. And even a man that had strange giraffe like features.

He had to forcefully tear his eyes away from the abnormalities that were beginning to make his stomach churn. The inhuman creations were almost beyond what he could imagine. Was this the extent of what Impel could accomplish? Was there even more complex creatures and experiments hidden in this place?

Sanji muscled down a shudder and forced himself to stop thinking about it as he was lead over to an area that seemed more devoted to aviation and height capabilities. Large posts of varying heights were positioned in random order with small square platforms at the top of each – Sanji had to crane his neck to see the top of some – they must have been at least 30 meters high. Additionally there were high bars and nets of the same heights.

The Blugory took off his shackles before leaving, all except for one who remained by his side with another one of those menacing electric wands. A rather funny looking man with a lab coat and a clip board approached Sanji, flipping through his notes. His curly hair was dyed an odd blue, and his feet looked a little to large to be normal.

The scientist pushed a button on the top of his clip board and began speaking to himself.

"Subject No.19114109; Aviation Unit. Regular injections of endolymph[1], testosterone[2], biphosphonates[3], and teriparatide[4]. As well as daily anti-biotics. Vitamin C and D supplements triple normal GDA. And..." The man flipped a couple of the pages over and tapped something written hidden from Sanji's view, "Epidermal infusion of cDermo-1[5]."

The man walked a circle around Sanji and he noted the name tag said Dr. Indigo. Sanji quietly snorted as he found the name oddly fitting. Indigo finished his circle and came to a stop in front of Sanji. "Says here you've had regular injections to stabilize your vestibular system to accommodate your recent appendages. Also says you've had several other medications for cognitive and muscular enhancement. Sound correct?"

Sanji just stood and stared, he had honestly only understood a handful of the words this man had said. The confusion on his face must have shown because an annoyed tick started near the man's eye. He abruptly pushed Sanji's chest, Sanji stumbled but recovered and watched Indigo carefully.

"Equilibrioception[6] seems adequate enough." Indigo spoke to the clipboard and didn't seemed fazed anymore, "Subject is able to walk and move with relative easy, no overbalancing or movements equating to improper weight distribution." He checked something off before grabbing a handful of feathers and harshly yanking them out.

Sanji winced but restrained himself from doing anything. Attacking and being troublesome to guards was one thing, but attacking a doctor or scientist was a one way ticket to a world of pain that he didn't feel like being part of at the moment. Indigo made a small noise and checked something else off, "Nociception[7] seems fine. How have you found them so far? Movement easy? No cramping?"

Sanji shook his head, "No problems."

"Subject admits to proprioception[8] being of proper standards. Testing should reveal any abnormalities or irregularities resulting in termination."

Sanji frowned at 'termination', he didn't like it nor did it make him feel comfortable in the current situation. What would they be terminating? Him? His wings? Fuck, they probably would kill him if he was just a failed attempt. Then they'd fill his cell with another poor sap to undergo the same treatment.

"Alright," Indigo tapped his clipboard with his pen, "We're going to do some basic equilibrium and kinaesthetic testing to see if your wings will actually be able to allow you to fly. The first post should prove as a fair scale to how operational your wings are."

Sanji turned toward the post that Indigo had mentioned and just stared at it for a few moments before glancing back at the scientist, "What exactly am I–"

"Test your current strength. Jump to the top. You may use your wings if you can."

The post looked about seven meters tall and there was was no way he could jump that high; no one could. No matter what injections or medication they gave him; it was just simply impossible. But he supposed that if he didn't try he'd probably get hit with one of the wands he heard crackling behind him.

Sanji sighed in resignation, rolled his shoulders and unfurled his wings. He beat his wings experimentally a few times, finally free of his cramped cell to be able to test the limits of his wings. There expanse was astounding, easily twice his height. With just a few flaps he found himself already feeling weightless; his feet coming off the ground ever-so-slightly. Maybe he could do this? Bouncing on the balls of his feet he quietly psyched himself up while assessing what he was about to do. He supposed that he might as well try and see how high his wings could thrust him. Running full tilt at the pole he stilled himself as he neared.

Kicking off from the ground with all his might and instinctively snapping his wings down he launched himself at the top of the pole. With the added force of his wings he felt himself practically thrown toward the top platform, and he flailed before he bodily hit the trunk a few feet from the top. He immediately wrapped his arms and legs around the pole not wanting to fall from such a height and break his knees.

Sanji chanced a look behind and couldn't quite believe he had just jumped to his current height. With a couple flaps he managed to get on top and he stood for a few moments glancing around the room. He had a much better view of all the other prisoners from here. Some had actually stopped and turned their attention toward him.

The Blugory below looked a little in awe and Indigo was merely smirking happily as he scribble away on his clipboard, he was also murmuring something into the microphone, but Sanji couldn't quite make it out. He let out a relieved sigh, for now it seemed like he had done something right.

"Alright," Indigo announced, his clipboard now tucked under his arm, "Now get down."

Sanji looked down at Indigo skeptically, "How?"

"Jump, fly, fall. I really don't care; just come down." Indigo smiled maliciously, "Be careful not to hurt yourself though. You do know what they say about a horse with a broken leg."

Now standing on the top and looking down he felt his previous nervousness come back and hit him full force. There was no possible way he could fly, and this height would undoubtedly hurt him. And Indigo's threat was bouncing around the back of his brain. If he fucked himself up would they put him down like some animal?

Sanji sighed resignedly, he supposed he might as well try. Maybe he would surprise himself like last time. After all how hard could flying really be? He just had to flap his wings, right? He took a deep breath and stepped off the platform the same moment as he beat his wings.

Flapping definitely slowed the fall and for a moment he thought perhaps it wouldn't be too hard. But maintaining a constant, steady beat of his wings was harder than he thought and when one wing pushed down a little too hard he completely overbalanced and fell the last couple meters to the ground.

Not able to recover well because of the bulk of his wings he landed on his side, crumpling one of his wings underneath himself. He rolled over onto his stomach and off of his wing giving a groan of pain.

_Fuck, that hurt._

He remained face down, not wanting to get up nor be forced to try again. A large gloved arm gripped his bicep and he was yanked to his feet by the Blugory. Sanji sighed irritably as he was shoved toward the expectant scientist. The shock was delivered once more and Indigo informed, "Alright, now try again."

Sanji scowled at Indigo as he stalked past and made his way to the post yet again.

~X~

After what seemed like hours Indigo finally seemed convinced that he would make no more progress with Sanji, so he was dragged off to be returned to his cell. He had never looked forward to his cell before, but now he wanted nothing more than to curl up in his cage and sleep.

The cage was unlocked and for once he was not roughly shoved to the ground. Instead they let him walk in by himself before locking the door. Sanji snorted quietly, before making his way over to the far wall and taking a seat on the cold floor. It seemed that now that he was a success they were going to be a little more gentle with him. Fucking fickle assholes. He rubbed his arm where he had gotten a particularly large burn, and let out a low growl as the Blugory finally walked out of sight.

"You okay, son?"

Sanji turned in surprise, noting an old man through the bars in the cell next to him, he nodded lightly, "They're the one's that aren't okay."

"That is true." The man nodded solemnly, "Have they been torturing you this whole time?"

"No." Sanji paused, "Well, yeah, I guess. I mean I wasn't exactly doing what they wanted me to; so you could say that it was my fault." He sighed and looked up at the black ceiling

Sanji let out a low growl when his wing had unconsciously curled around his body. Grabbing the appendage with fury and throwing it aside, but it seemed instinct brought it back around himself once more as some form of comfort. He gave up on trying to control it for the moment and turned back to the man.

"I don't know how they expect me to fly," Sanji muttered in annoyance, "I just got these fucking things and they expect me to just immediately know how to use them."

The man remained silent for a while, his head resting back against the stone wall. When he finally spoke it was very gentle and kind, "They're quite beautiful, you know."

Sanji snorted and brought his knees up to his chest, holding them tightly, "That's hardly a consolation. But thanks anyway old man."

The man laughed, "I'm not that old. Lived a full life before coming here." His voice lost it's humour, "Can't imagine the same for you though. How long you been here?"

Sanji shrugged, "Hard to tell. This coming will be the fifth winter."

The man nodded thoughtfully, "Four years and still sane, I'm impressed son. You got a name?"

"Sanji."

The old man smiled, "Ray."

~X~

As the temperature dropped in the cell, and nighttime was presumably covering the outside world, a minion made his rounds delivering the trays of sustenance pills to each captive. But when Sanji heard the scrape of a plate being placed on the floor, he looked up and froze at what he saw.

There were the usual pills laid out, but next to it sat a small chunk of bread. He remained curled up in his corner for a moment, just staring. When was the last time he had ate real food? When was the last time he had swallowed something that wasn't a pill or some odd fluid?

He got up and crawled over to the plate. The pills were the standard; hydration, protein, mixed Vitamin and mineral supplements. He bypassed them and picked up the bread, feeling the rough crust under his hands and hearing the crackle as he crunched it lightly in his grip. He raised it to his lips and took a small inhale before sighing happily.

Sanji took a savoury bite of the sweet bread but paused when he heard a small sound. He turned and saw a tiny girl in the cell next to his. She was drawn in on herself, arms hugging her knees to her chest, but her head was raised as she looked at the food in Sanji's hands with awe.

Sanji paused for only a moment before crawling over to the edge of the cage and proffered the bread to the little girl. She looked at it hungrily before looking up at Sanji. Her wide amber eyes looked strangely bright against her grimy face and tangled hair, they blinked up innocently as she refused to move.

"It's okay." Sanji reassured, "You can have it."

Slowly – ever-so-slowly – she let go of her knees and crawled toward Sanji. When she was just in front of Sanji on the other side of the cage she knelt and placed her hands respectively in her lap. She didn't move, but continued to just watch Sanji silently.

"Do you have a name?"

The little girl was quiet for a long moment before whispering, "Apis."

Sanji smiled reassuringly, "Well, Apis. It's very nice to meet you." He offered the bread to her once more.

"But it's yours."

"I'm a big boy." Sanji grinned, "You're still growing; you need to eat."

Apis took the piece of bread from Sanji's hand and held it with reverence before her hunger got the better of her and she took a large bite, "Thank you." she mumbled through a mouthful. Tears began to leak from her bright eyes, streaking her face as she continued to chew, "Thank you."

Sanji shifted until he leaned against the bars and he managed to sneak part of his wing between the gap in the metal poles. He wrapped as much of his wing as he could around the girl and then reached an arm through to gently stroke her hair. She was shaking from her withheld sobs – not wanting to draw the attention of any of the guards.

"It'll be okay." He murmured soothingly as he stroked her hair.

She soon quieted down, nuzzling into Sanji's wing as she slowly ate the last of the bread. Somehow having such simple human contact and conversation had improved Sanji's mood. Deep down he was boiling with rage that men would kidnap a child – especially a girl – and torture her. But just being able to comfort her and make her feel safer was enough to make him feel human himself again.

"I'll be here until you wake up, okay?" He whispered gently as he kept stroking her hair.

Apis nodded and curled into his feathers, small hand bunching around a tuft as her eyes already began to drift shut. She looked so innocent and fragile that Sanji wondered how it was possible for such humans to exist that would want to hurt her. Sanji wrapped his other wing around himself for warmth and settled down to sleep.

* * *

A/N:

[1] Endolymph; a fluid within the inner ear that is linked directly to the hearing and balance of the human body. With the added weight of Sanji's wings his balance would need to be corrected by higher levels of endolymph.

[2] Testosterone; a steroid hormone that increases muscle mass. With the added weight of Sanji's wings his body needed a larger muscle mass to stay up right without falling over.

[3] Biphosphonates; a class of drugs that help with osteoporosis(bone loss). In recent studies it has been discovered that it can not only strengthen, but help grow bones. This is the main drug that attributed to the growth of Sanji's wings.

[4] Teriparatide; a class of drug that also helps with osteoporosis(bone loss). Helps increase bone mass. This is another drug that helped in the growth of Sanji's wings.

[5] cDermo-1; an avian embryo that is responsible for the growth of feathers and scales. Obviously this was used to grow the feathers on Sanji's wings.

[6] Equilibrioception; the sense of balance.

[7] Nociception; the ability to feel pain.

[8] Proprioception; awareness of the body.

Sorry for all the science talk. Haha.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Of The Sky

Author: auspizien

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji, For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

* * *

"You may not know where you are going,

but know that so long as you spread your wings,

the winds will carry you."

- C. JoyBell C.

The terrible scraping of a metal tray being slid into his cell woke both sleeping man and child. Apis stood and grabbed her pills in one hand and the cup with the other before coming back to sit next to Sanji. She popped the pills into her mouth without hesitation before taking a small sip of the water, shuddering at its taste.

"Are you going to have yours?" Apis asked, gazing over Sanji's own tray.

"I will in a moment," Sanji reassured, "But I'm comfortable right now."

"Ah," Apis nodded. "Alright."

"You okay?" Sanji whispered quietly, shifting as best as he could to keep his wing comfortably around her through the cell bars.

Apis nodded once and took another sip from the tin cup, her tiny body jerking as it shuddered from the horrible taste of the muddy water. She stuck her tongue out and made a 'yuck' sound before setting the cup down and pushing it away.

"So," Apis ventured quietly, a hand coming up to run through his feathers, "This is what they did to you?"

Sanji nodded, and paused with his mouth open. Even though she was in this horrible place there was no need to scare her with the truth of what happened. Nor tell her about all the injections he'd been given. He supposed she had her far share of needles, but he decided he needed to keep her as innocent as possible.

"Yeah," Sanji stalled, trying to come up with a kid friendly way of saying what had happened, "They made me drink something funny."

Apis nodded thoughtfully, "I thought so. You were asleep for so long, and then those weird pods started growing on your back. I was scared you were dead."

"Oh yeah. How long was I asleep for?"

The girl's face scrunched up and she looked down at her hands, muttering to herself as she folded down her fingers. She paused once, and seemed to back track and then looked up at Sanji, "Nineteen days."

"What?!"

That couldn't be right. It had felt like a night's worth of sleep for all he knew. Nearly three weeks unconscious? It certainly would explain how fast the wings had grown on his back; and it would definitely account for all the energy he had upon waking up.

Apis seemed to sense Sanji's rhetorical question and instead said, "I like them though. Your wings."

"Thanks." Sanji muttered, "I'm still not quite sure if I like them yet or not."

"Why not?" Wide brown eyes blinked up at him in confusion, "They're so pretty. You could fly away from here with them."

Sanji sighed and shifted, bringing his knees up to his chest, "They're too much of a reminder of this place. If I ever got out; I'd get them removed immediately."

"If they remind you of something bad, then you just have to find something else that they remind you of. Something happy." Apis stroked the feathers gently, "The people here are bad, but that doesn't mean the gift you get is."

Sanji watched the little girl in shock, the whole time he had been wanting to protect this innocent child, but in reality this place had made her adapt and mature much faster than she should of had to. Regardless, her words were wise and Sanji respected them.

"So you have a 'gift'?"

Apis glanced around quickly before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially, "I can hear animals. I can understand what they say. They talk to me."

"Is that what the bad men did to you?" Sanji asked quietly.

Apis nodded, glancing out to the hallway, "But it's not so bad. The animals they let me see are really nice."

"Oh, yeah?" Sanji raised a brow as he let a tiny grin through.

"Mmhm." Apis smiled brightly, "There's a really nice eagle and dog that they let me play with. And some ducks." She made a small sound, "And a camel. He's really weird though."

"A camel?" Sanji asked skeptically.

Apis giggled, "Ah ha, and sometimes –"

A sound drew their attention, a Blugory stood impatiently outside her cell; cuffs and wand in hand. Apis stiffened slightly, shying away as the guard unlocked the door and took a step inside. Sanji could hear Apis swallow nervously as she seemed to be trying to get her shaking knees under her so she could stand.

"I'll be here when you get back, okay?" Sanji reassured her, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "I'll be sitting right here."

She nodded before bravely standing up and walking over to the door and let herself be cuffed and dragged off. Sanji watched her go and smiled brightly when she looked back, the small bit of encouragement seemed enough to make her able to continue down the hallway. Sanji felt something akin to a parent watching their child being taken away. He bit his lip before slowly turning to lay on his wing like a makeshift bed, waiting for the Blugory that would come by soon to take him.

~X~

Sanji returned to his cell, worn and beaten, and cast a glance at Apis' cell – only to find it empty. At least he hadn't broken his promise; he'd be here when she returned. Although he was slightly worried. He'd been in the gymnasium for a couple hours and had assumed she'd definitely be back by now.

He dropped to his knees, before collapsing onto the ground and just allowed his tired body and wings take a moment to recover. Indigo was becoming more ruthless. The shocks were delivered more frequently, and his impatience grew with every failed attempt. Indigo finally let him return to his cell when he had been able to master gliding. Tomorrow he'd probably raise the bar and beat Sanji even more for failing.

Sanji shifted and flapped his wings lightly. He had to admit though, flying – gliding – had felt pretty amazing. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, and it had felt liberating. Being up in the air, in control of his motions; he was free. Like a bird soaring high in the clouds – it was having no restrictions. If he could actually learn to fully fly, he'd take off and never return to this place. He'd never touch ground again – he'd just fly and fly and fly...

"No. No, please. Let me go." A terrified voiced echoed down the hall.

No movement could be seen, nor a sound heard as the rest of the captives shied away to the corners of the cells, merely grateful that it wasn't them being dragged off to be tested on. Sanji slowly pushed himself up off the floor as the panicked voice neared.

The Blugory came into view, dragging a young woman behind him who was doing all she could to resist, but cuffs on her hands and feet made it almost impossible. He had a hand wrapped up in her purple hair, gripping tight as he led her down the hall. Her cheeks were streaked with tears which ran paths through the dirt that covered her face.

Sanji darted forward, gripping the bars of his cell, the guard stopping right outside his cage, raising an eyebrow as he watched him. The girl looked at Sanji desperately, her eyes first settling on the wings before meeting Sanji's eyes, silently pleading for his help.

"Let her go." Sanji snarled, hands tightening on the metal.

The Blugory snorted, "Make me."

Sanji shook the bars fiercely, "She's a woman!"

The guard smirked, his hand coming up to unabashedly grope her breast, "I'm quite aware."

The girl jerked way from him, trying her best to break his grip, but he only tightened it and hauled her back to him. Tears broke out anew, staining her cheeks, and her sobs echoed down the hallway, reaching the other patrons. All of them most likely curling in on themselves in fear, knowing they would one day be in the same position.

The guard dismissed Sanji and began off down the hall, dragging the girl with him. Sanji shook the bars desperately, "I'll kill you, you sick bastard! I won't die until I see you fucking dead! You sick motherfucker, let her go!"

Sanji's throat was raw from yelling, it had been ages since he had had water; the last liquid he'd ingested was a cup of silty solution that he had that morning to choke down his medication. He let his head fall forward to rest on the bars in defeat, the woman and guard long since out of sight.

He swallowed, gently trying to soothe this pained throat. Banging his head softly against the bars as he slid to his knees mumbling, "Let her go..."

Sanji closed his eyes and was once more met with the usual disturbing sounds of the prison. Screams from above mixing with the sobs from below, both pained noises mingling. The cacophony only broken by the click of the door at the far end of the hall and footsteps of a guard coming to claim another victim.

He could see the men in the opposite cells, stiffen and huddle closer to the wall, hoping – wishing – that they would not be chosen. Sanji sighed, it was the only good thing about his development; he no longer had to worry about anymore tests or experiments. All he had to look forward to now was his visits to the gymnasium.

The guard stopped outside the cell to Sanji's left and he turned abruptly to see the old man stand without any issue and walk toward the guard. His hands were cuffed without a fight and he calmly followed the man out of his cell without any guidance, or need to be pushed along.

Before he set off down the hall he turned to Sanji with a friendly smile, "You too, take flight."

Ray gave a nod, and something in his eyes seemed to twinkle before he turned and set off down the hall after the guard, humming a happy tune. Sanji remained on his knees watching the peculiar man walking away, utterly confused by what he had said.

~X~

The sirens wailed loudly, giving a signal that someone had broken protocol and was now trying to leave the premises. Heads lifted from huddled forms, curious about who was lucky enough to break away from the guards. Sanji frowned and wondered which lucky bastard had managed to find the right timing to run.

When Ray was not returned to his cell that night Sanji's curiosity peaked and he wondered if that old man was the one that attempted to escape. Sanji frowned and curled further into his wings, that old man looked far too old and frail to have been able to fight off hundreds of guards and run miles from the Blugory that would undoubtedly be sent to chase after him through whatever terrain lay above. Whether it was sea, desert, or forest; any escapee would be endlessly chased.

But as the hours passed and the cell remained empty; Sanji began to question if maybe Ray had been lucky enough to get out, or if maybe the poor old man had been killed in some sort of experiment. When the cell was filled with a new prisoner – a young man with blond hair, mechanical legs, and a haunted expression on his face that made him look utterly demented – Sanji knew that Ray was not returning.

You too, take flight.

Ray's words echoed in his mind and he stared wide-eyed off down the hallway. Had that old man seriously been the one who tried to escape? And did he succeed? He must have; they wouldn't waste a perfectly good test subject by just mindlessly killing him.

Was Ray being literal? Had he been trying to encourage Sanji not to give up? Or had he actually escaped and wanted Sanji to follow? Could Sanji actually do it? Could he break out and perhaps run away from this place? He wasn't quite able to fly yet, but whatever medication they had given him had rejuvenated his body. He could probably take most of the Blugory in a fight and possibly win.

Sanji glanced at the blond who now had his face pressed against the bars to Sanji's cell, his hands extended grasping for Sanji as he muttered something about flamingos.

Sanji abruptly looked away, and resolved that he might as well try to escape. Sitting for eternity next to this lunatic was only giving him incentive to get away. Plus the benefits if he succeeded were completely beyond comprehension. And if he failed...?

He supposed the worst that would happen is that they'd kill him. And honestly, that'd be bliss compared to Impel.

But...

Sanji glanced at Apis' empty cell. He had made promise; not only to a girl, but to a child. When Apis returned she would be expecting Sanji to be sitting in his cell waiting for her. What if she returned and found Sanji's cell filled with some deranged person like the blond in Ray's old cell?

Sanji sighed heavily; he'd wait.

Without a doubt he was going to try and escape, but he owed Apis an explanation. Maybe if he got out he could get help and come back and get her? But while he waited for Apis he figured these next couple days would not be in vain. He would master flying so that when he attempted to flee he wouldn't be like a sitting duck.

~X~

Indigo grinned broadly, "I have to say your sudden progression is very promising."

Sanji didn't say anything, he knew he wasn't expected to.

"I'm satisfied for now," Indigo motioned for a Blugory to come get Sanji, "Tomorrow I expect you to have better landing capabilities. No net."

Sanji nodded lightly before he allowed himself to be led off. He kept quiet but his eyes and ears were busy taking in every detail of the path that he followed every day. Which levels had a heavy flow of traffic on the elevator, which doors had constant commotion behind them – whether it be the grinding of machines or the screaming of a human – and which hallways were almost always deserted. He would need to have perfect timing if wanted his escape to work.

The elevator doors screeched open and Sanji stepped inside, followed closely by the Blugory. The guard inserted a plastic card into a slot and pressed for level 145; a jerk and a whine set the lift into motion. Sanji watched out of his peripheral as the Blugory then slipped the card back into his breast pocket.

He yawned casually and looked up as he feigned boredom. There were nine meticulously placed tiles on the ceiling; the corner ones each had a light in their centre and the middle one had hinges on its right side. _Interesting._ There was a sharp ding and Sanji let his head drop to watched the doors open at his level.

Sanji walked out onto his floor, the Blugory followed along almost lazily behind Sanji; knowing the blond wouldn't dare run. As Sanji neared his cell he felt his stomach drop as a shape came into view in Apis' cell that was definitely _not_ the little girl he had comforted that morning a week ago. A man with red hair lay face down on the stone, unconscious but still breathing.

Apis' cell had been empty for several days, and while he had refused to believe that she was dead he had begun to doubt his resolve. The last couple steps Sanji took into his cell were numb and barely registered. He slumped down against the back wall of the cell and his legs sprawled out in front of himself. The grief hurt more than any electrical burn and all he could do was sit and regret the fact that he hadn't been able to keep her safe.

His eyes burnt from unshed tears, his body much too dehydrated to produce something so essential as water. But inside he wept. Both companions were now gone and Sanji felt that small ray of hope that had begun to shine obliterated by the cold and dark of Impel. The pain in his chest was a mixture of sadness and hatred. Apis had barely had a start at life and then Impel had taken away everything. What about her parents? Did they just wake up one day to find their baby gone? Would she be missed?

A Blugory stalked past his cell making his way to collect another victim and the hatred inside him began to burn to the point he was amazed he wouldn't catch on fire. He wanted to torture every single one of the them; ever fucking scientist, guard and janitor in this god forsaken hell. Make them suffer and feel only the fraction of the pain that every innocent person in here had felt. And then – only then – would he let them all die and suffer forever in hell.

Sanji's hands clenched at his sides and his nails bit into his palm. There was no longer any reason keeping him here; the one person he felt responsible for was now dead. The best he could do was avenge her. He wasn't going to _try_ to escape; he was _going_ to escape, and get his revenge on this place.

~X~

Sanji walked along silently, hands cuffed as usual and the strange electrical device as always shoved warningly against his throat. He'd been oddly compliant that last few days, and at first the Blugory had been suspicious; giving him warning shocks, shoving him into doors, ripping out his feathers. But now they just seemed bored with his lack of response and seemed to think that he'd finally broken mentally.

The grip on the electrical wand was slack, and if he timed it right he could probably knock it completely from the guards hand before knocking him unconscious. With only two guards it was going to be almost too easy, but he planned for trouble on the upper levels.

Sanji wasn't a fool. If he was going to try and escape he was going to do it perfectly; make no mistakes, and especially not end up back in Impel. He had taken the last few days to survey the route to the training facility and figure out the exact spot to start his break away. The hallway they were coming to was perfect. It was almost always deserted; no cells, and within a quick sprint of the elevator. And thanks to Indigo and all the other scientist he now had some very handy tools to get out of this place.

They rounded the corner and Sanji took a calming breath as began a silent countdown in his head to begin his assault.

3... 2... 1!

He turned and slammed his head into the man on his left, effectively knocking him against the wall to fall to his knees holding his blood coated face. Sanji abruptly turned, wing slicing and the crown hitting the other man directly in the throat knocking him down the hallway to land in an unconscious heap several meters away.

The man with the bloody nose stood and launched toward Sanji, his electrical wand gone missing in the struggle. Sanji flapped his wings hard – as much as the narrow hallway would allow – bringing himself up and above the other man. He dropped forward, slamming the heel of his foot into the man's face and sent him crashing into the floor.

Both unconscious, Sanji grabbed the plastic card key hanging from the Blugory's breast pocket, the ring of keys on his belt and took off sprinting down the hallway. Hopefully no one had heard the scuffle; he only had so much time until he would certainly be found out. Maybe he'd make it far enough that he'd actually be able to escape.

As Sanji pushed the button for the elevator he could feel the blood begin to pump faster and he could hear it pulsing in his ears. If anyone was in the elevator coming down he'd be royally screwed. When the doors slid open and the small lift was empty Sanji's optimism doubled. Maybe he could do this.

Once in the elevator, he slammed the grated doors shut, put the key in the proper slot and pounded his thumb repeatedly against the glowing '1' on the panel of floor choices. With a jerk, and a horrible grinding the lift began to rise and with it Sanji's nervousness.

Keeping an eye on the glowing lights of the floor levels he quickly set to work testing each key in the lock on his wrists. The floors passed one at a time – 125, 124, 123 – how could this place possibly have so many floors? A promising click resounded and the metal cuffs fell to the floor with a heavy clang. Sanji immediately jumped up and punched the middle tile on the ceiling, hinges squeaking as the little door opened. He grabbed hold of the edge and brought his wings as close into his body as possible before pulling himself up onto the roof of the elevator.

Sanji kept the latch open and watched as the levels clicked by on the button board. Each time it neared a floor Sanji's heart would jump into his chest, and each time it passed the floor Sanji would swallow thickly – 54, 53, 52 – why was no one getting on by this point? – 36, 35, 34. Ding!

The lift came to a stop and Sanji quickly slammed the latch shut, crouching low on the roof of the lift as he listened to the voices of the people getting on the lift. From the gruff voices he guessed the were Blugory; that was lucky, they were far too dim to notice anything amiss. The lift began moving again, continuing its journey up.

Sanji glanced up the long elevator shaft trying to see the top but only able to identify the large 'I' beams and millions of cables running along the walls – 17, 16, 15 – Sanji mentally counted the floors as he passed them – 8, 7, 6. Ding!

The lift stopped at Floor 6 and Sanji could hear the Blugory get off at their stop. Sanji glanced up and saw just a few floors above – the Ground Floor level – beams of light shone through the grated doors and Sanji had to stamp down his excitement before it would overcome his rational. He smirked and jumped up, flying the short distance. Perching his toes on the edge of the platform, he wrenched the doors open and launched himself outside into the world.

He stood in a small courtyard, the entire area was boxed in with high walls and guns positioned at adequate intervals. Barbed wire twisted itself along the railings and at least a hundred Blugory were stationed along the top. Most seemed totally oblivious to his presence.

The two Blugory standing guard by the entrance seemed frozen for a moment, looking at Sanji and probably wondering what he was doing on the upper levels. Sanji took their momentary shock to his advantage and crouched low, expanding his wings fully. He jumped as hard as he could, launching himself up and into the air, beating his wings once, twice, before finding an air current and letting it carry himself up further. He beat his wings furiously, trying to get himself farther away.

Sanji didn't dare look back, all he knew was that the ground was steadily getting further and he was getting higher and he was free. Shouts and pandemonium broke lose below him as he cleared the walls and sirens began wailing much as they had when presumingly Ray had went missing.

Small black objects darted past him and he could hear the sound of gunfire. Already they had begun firing on him – the sound of the successive blasts echoing out across the empty sky. Whether they were shooting to kill or stun was yet to be seen.

Another loud round was fired and pain lanced through Sanji's right wing. A quick glance confirmed he was hit – a small needle had pierced his wing – a sedation needle. _Shit!_ Already he could feel the numbing effects spreading down his wings and nearing his body. All the testing Impel had done on their own relaxants certainty paid off. Sanji wasn't going to last long, he knew it was only a matter of time before his entire body would be completely numb.

Impel sat in the middle of a large valley – not many places that Sanji could hide himself – the mountains were too far off but the forest below seemed adequate. Sanji noticed a small clearing in the sea of trees below him – it was a long shot, but much better than keeping airborne and risking a crash into the tree tops.

Sanji angled himself toward the forest and brought his wings into his body, bulleting down to the ground. He dropped right through the gap he'd been aiming for, the ground began to come uncomfortably near and he spread his numb wings as much as they could to parachute and try and slow his body down for the inevitable impact.

His feet hit the ground hard and he immediately tumbled over from the force of his landing. Rolling several feet before finally falling face first, cushioned by the somewhat soft ground and the mud he had landed in.

He could faintly hear an engine of some vehicle run by somewhere, far enough though that the driver hadn't seen him. Face down – still in the mud – he lay quietly for a few moments as he tried to catch his breath and remain still so he wouldn't attract the attention of anymore nearby Blugory out on the hunt for him.

Sanji heard the crunch of a branch in front of him and gritted his teeth in frustration, tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks. He had gotten this far only to be captured again. Maybe the Blugory would be merciful and kill him for trying to flee. Death would be better than returning to that place.

When a few moments passed with neither a rough hand wrapped in his hair to pull him to his feet, or a electrical wand being pushed against the back of his skull, he took a steadying breath, and then looked up defiantly to accept his fate. But it wasn't a blue, ape-like guard sent to return him back to Impel Down.

The man stood before him, tall and proud, dressed in rugged travelling gear. Army boots laced up tight with black combat pants tucked into them, and a ratty white shirt concealed under a leather jacket. A large rucksack hung from his shoulder, and a toque was pulled down low enough to mostly conceal his eyes.

He watched Sanji steadily and Sanji just stared back, he couldn't read the look in the man's eyes, but whatever it was – it wasn't hostile. A wave of relief washed over him.

A human. A real human being. Who wouldn't prod him with electrical zappers, eject him with needles and weird serums, or strap him down and beat him like an animal. Sanji dragged one of his hands out the muck, the sticky substance seemed like it was holding his arm down. Breaking it free he raised it out toward the man, hand stretching desperately.

It seemed like an eternity, and just before Sanji's head dropped forward as he lost consciousness, he felt a gloved hand grip his tightly.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I should be listening to my Econ prof, but seriously? Zosan is more important than our economy...


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Of The Sky

Author: auspizien

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji, For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

* * *

"Once you have tasted flight,

you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,

for there you have been,

and there you will always long to return."

-Leonardo da Vinci

* * *

Sanji slowly came to, swiping back the curtain of sleep to reveal the world of consciousness. He was laying face down on what seemed to be the softest surface he could ever remember, his wings sprawled comfortably behind him and his body covered in a blanket. As the events before he passed out came flooding back he began to panic. Where was he?!

He cracked his eyes open, the lashes crusted over from how much sleep he did not know. Fluttering them several times to get accustomed to the lighting of the room, the blurry outlines of furniture came into focus. The room was adorned much like a doctor's office would be, with most of the necessary equipment, except it lacked all the posters with cheesy sayings and the charters that no one ever looked at. The bed he was lying on however was unbelievably comfortable and part of him want to snuggle further into the sheets and sleep longer.

As he glanced around the rest of the room he noticed the man from earlier, sitting in the corner with a newspaper in hand, casually flipping through. Sanji took a moment to quietly assess him. He hadn't gotten a good look before, but this was undoubtedly the same man. Same army boots and mangled white t-shirt, his hat however was missing and his neon green hair stood out starkly against the grey wall.

The man glanced up, violet eyes assessing Sanji for a long moment just as Sanji was him. He closed and folded the paper, tossing it on his seat after having stood up. He made his way to Sanji's bed side and continued to watch him carefully, "Awake, huh?"

Sanji placed his hands beside his ribcage, intending to push himself up, but the man merely dropped a hand to his back, and all intentions of getting up were gone. The man's strength was inhuman. Though Sanji could tell that the man had just placed a casual hand on his back, it felt as though a massive amount of weight had been placed on top of him. It didn't hurt, but the pressure that was applied was keeping his body immobile.

"Stay. You shouldn't get up so quickly."

"You're a doctor?" Sanji asked, more than a little peeved at being forced down. But beyond that a million questions were piling up in his head and he wasn't sure what to ask first.

"No. The man who looked after you is currently in his own room," The man ran a casual hand through his odd green hair before shrugging, "It wouldn't be good to wake up and be traumatized further."

"Trauma-what?" Sanji frowned, "Who the hell are you? Where am I?"

The man let out an annoyed sigh, "Please just shut up and let me explain. It will be easier for both of us."

"Don't tell me to shut up!" Sanji scowled, "I just got out of Impel Down, I almost died. I..."

"Haven't we all?" The man interjected, giving Sanji a dark look.

"What are you talking about?"

"I have endured that place, so has everyone else that is in this base. So has the doctor that healed you. So, when I tell you to shut your fucking trap, I hope you have enough understanding of the situation to respect that."

Sanji growled low in his throat as he began to try and wriggle out form under the man's hand.

"I'll respect shit." Sanji spat, "I've been kept captive for the last four years; I'm not letting you do the same. Now let me the fuck go."

The man refused to move his hand and for all Sanji's struggles it was completely useless.

"I'm not keeping you 'captive'." Green Hair snorted, "I'm helping you. You'd be face down in the mud dead right now if I didn't help you."

"So what?!" Sanji snarled, as he completely gave up on getting away and instead opted for glaring angrily at his pillow, "Now I owe you or something?! Fuck you."

The man sighed heavily and removed his hand just as the door to the room burst open and a small deer trotted in, Sanji was allowed a moment to raise an eyebrow in confusion before it opened its mouth and informed, "I'm Chopper. I hope you're alright."

Sanji let out a yell and almost fell off the bed.

"The deer spoke. The deer fucking spoke." Sanji turned desperately to the man, "You heard that, right? I'm not going insane, right?"

Both ignored Sanji and turned to each other, and Sanji managed to stamp down his fear long enough to listen to their conversation. Even though he was still trying desperately to comprehend _how_ the green-haired man could be having a conversation with a fucking _deer._

"Did he just wake up?" The deer – Chopper – asked the man with super strength.

"Yea, he's energetic enough. Tried to get up right away."

"It's not that odd though, the only ones that get out have to be fairly fit and healthy to get away. Do you think he'd been in there long?"

Sanji scowled, "I'm right here."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Good for you. And the sky is blue."

At the mention of sky Sanji perked up, wings twitching behind him, "Can I..." Sanji sighed and glanced toward the door, "May I go outside?"

"No, I would recommend tha-"

"Chopper." The man interjected, his voice sounding the softest and gentlest Sanji had yet to hear. He glanced at him and saw the expression was directed at him, not the funny doctor. "You know what it means to everyone, once finally getting out of that place. He deserves it." He continued to look steadily at Sanji, "Then he'll return and can finish recovering."

Sanji couldn't stop the gratefulness from flooding his face, but at the same time the man's unspoken 'or else' threat had him on edge and he desperately wanted to kick the man in the face. But for the moment he couldn't care about anything else, all he wanted was to get outside and see what he had been dreaming of for the past four years.

Sanji pushed himself up off the bed and wobbled slightly, colours dancing in front of his eyes, he reached out blindly, a lurching feeling rising in his throat as he found nothing and began to fall. A steady, strong body caught him and righted his stance as he blinked furiously to get everything back into focus.

"I said you shouldn't get up so quickly." Green Hair mocked lightly.

Sanji choked down the urge to tell the man to go fuck himself, instead he stepped away from the man with a terse nod and a 'thank you'. Damn, but he kept having the man come to his damn rescue. He was going to owe him big time. And Sanji _really_ did not like owing other people.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"A week." Chopper informed him while watching him carefully, as though he might start having seizures next.

"A week?!" Sanji shrieked.

"It's not that bad." The man said as he walked over to the door and opened it, "Many people have a long sleep when they finally get out of Impel. When was the last time you slept on a real bed? Your body needed the rest."

"The last time I –?" Sanji placed a hand to his head, "I don't remember."

A small flicker of sympathy flashed on the man's stoic face before he swept his arm graciously in front of the door, "After you. I'll take you outside."

"Thank you." Sanji muttered reluctantly as he made his way past the man and out the door.

He looked around as he had entered what seemed to be a large recreational room. The entire area was a large living space with several couches set up on one end which all circled around a rustic fireplace, and in the other end was a very large table that could easily sit over 20 people. The walls had some artistic paintings hung. And there was some furniture. The rest of the walls were covered in doors that lead off into further areas of this place.

"Where are we?" Sanji asked aloud as he glanced around in amazement, surely they weren't in a building this large.

"A few kilometers underground," The man made his way across the room to another door, "It's so scouts from Impel don't find us."

Sanji frowned as he followed him through another door and along a twisting corridor. Underground? How was that even possible? How had this place been made? But as he walked along the hall he discovered that it was indeed true. Walls, floor and ceiling were all stone.

They both remained silent for the rest of the walk, and Sanji desperately tried not to think about how these tunnels reminded him of the ones in Impel. But they were infinitely different. There were torches in convenient intervals keeping the enter place lit in a warm fiery glow, instead of the haunting luminescence of Impel, and the walls also had carvings of creatures and people and names and dates; other people that must have existed in this mount had marked their existence on these walls. It made them a lot more comforting to look at the longer he stared.

Eventually tearing his eyes away from the walls he looked at the back of the man currently leading him through the mountain.

This man had found him and brought him somewhere safe and out of the reach of Impel; for that he was undoubtedly, though annoyingly, in his debt. But what was this man doing out there in the first place? And what was with this extensive hideout?

From what he'd gathered there were other people in the base as well; but why? If this mountain system was really just a hideout for a congregation of victims from Impel, then there must be some purpose. Why had these people not returned to civilization? Should he take this opportunity to make a break for it? The questions and confusion continued to tumble through his mind as they neared the end of the tunnel.

The door was opened, and the flooding of light had Sanji shielding his eyes against the onslaught. Golden rays pierced his vision as his other senses were accosted by the sudden reality of the outside world. Wind whistled a musical tune, as he could smell the pine and sap that was brought in off the breeze, he could literally taste the freshness in the air.

Sanji exited the rocky cavern, coming out on a precipice over-looking a beautiful valley. The sun was setting far off in the distance and it kissed the sky, painting it with supple oranges and smooth rouges. The clouds were fluffy and full as they drifted lazily across the unmarked sky. A sea of green lay before him, trees weaving and twining through the valley's base before coming up on the other side and lapping at the snow capped mountains.

It was like a painting done by a frail girl who was kept locked away from the world, the only way to experience the beauty of nature was by her own hand. Sitting alone in the darkness of her keep, day by day creating the world she one day dreamt to see for herself. Paintings that looked so real, that if you were to reach out toward it, you would be certain that your hand would extend and reached helplessly for the unrivalled beauty of the sky. That your hand would grasp desperately for those far off clouds, and yet never meet them.

But her hand would reach out, her heart begging to feel those desires; and her hand would meet canvas, fingers brushing against the paint, confirming the surreal and horrible reality to her. Forever it seemed Sanji had reached out desperately in his dreams; grasping for the clouds, wishing for the touch of wind, longing for the reality of nature. And each time his hand had met stone, and he had awoken on the dank floor, hand touching the rock.

And as he stood there, faced with this surreal beauty, fear clenched tightly in him, and suddenly he didn't want to be there. Didn't want to reach out and find that this was all just a dream and that he would awaken alone and crushed in his cold, dark cell.

As a light breeze swept around him and the smells of the world invaded him he slowly reached out, hand trembling, but his hand met nothing. He couldn't touch the sky, nor drag his hand across the clouds.

Tears slowly flowed down his cheeks and he smiled, his happiness and relief overflowing as he dropped to his knees, hands dragging roughly through the grass, feeling the texture he'd wanted for so long. Wind swept across his face, drying his tears and he stared up at the graceful clouds that had transformed from vibrant red to the deepest of purple, pink happily tinging their edges.

Sanji remained kneeling there for god knew how long. Just staring out at the world and realizing that there was never going to be anything that would compare to it. Nothing was going to ever captivate him as much as this sight right now was doing to him...

A scuffle of a boot on rock reminded Sanji that the man was still there and that he probably wasn't allowed out for long. Lest they give away their cover, or something. Sanji hastily wiped away any traces of tears and stood, making his way back to the door where the super-human waited.

Sanji scratched the back of his head nervously, feeling somewhat guilty for his previous behaviour and malicious words. Just being outside had completely changed his mentality. He no longer was suspicious of these people, nor was he eager to run away, but instead felt like he had found the first step to begin healing himself. And it was here in this mountain, "Thank you."

The man cocked his head to the side before nodding solemnly, "You're welcome."

Sanji then entered the cave again and the door was shut.

~X~

Sanji was returned to the room with the funny deer – Chopper – and was immediately forced back into bed. Chopper was spewing some doctor jargon that was going right over Sanji's head. And all he could do was lay on his stomach, stare at the wall and try to calm his over-active brain as he finally came to the amazing and emotional conclusion that he had escaped Impel. That he was free.

He felt like he could trust these people. They had saved him after all. But more than anything he missed his home. As he laid there and thought about it however he realized just how stupid and irrational he had been earlier. How could he possibly go home with wings? How would he hide them? How long would he be in civilization before someone reported him and he was dragged off to a testing facility to try and deduce why he had _fucking_ wings?

Sanji sighed as he reached the eventual, yet sad, conclusion; he couldn't return home. Not unless he could get rid of his wings, and he was positive nothing short of amputation would do the trick. The thought made him feel a little sick and he mentally shook himself.

He turned his attention to Chopper, who was coming toward him with a needle. An image flashed through his head of a dingy metallic room, blood and grime smeared on the walls and a filthy doctors glove reaching for his arm, a grotesque needle poised in the other hand. Sanji screamed and knocked the deer away and stood up on the bed so he had a height advantage over the creature.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Sanji pointed accusingly, "Don't you dare touch me!"

Chopper, for his part, stayed fairly calm; which only served to unnerve Sanji more.

Fuck maybe Sanji was wrong? Maybe he shouldn't trust these people...

The door once again burst opened and a gorgeous young woman stood in the doorway with a cute yet serious scowl on her adorable face. The girl was unbelievably beautiful in a completely natural way, and her red hair added to her fiery appearance. In one hand she held a large metal staff. For moment Sanji was worried that she was going to hit him with it.

"Sit down. And calm down." She snapped.

Sanji sat abruptly, and the ginger girl came over to him. She kept the metal pole firmly in her left hand, gave him stern look and firmly smacked his cheek before grabbing his arm and turning it over, exposing it to the doctor.

"Behave yourself." She scolded, "He's just trying to help you. It just some medication to make you feel better."

Sanji would never argue with a lady, but as the doctor came near again and more memories began to flash through his head, he flinched and purposefully looked away. Keeping an eye on the beautiful woman he ignored the feeling of the cold metal sliding underneath his skin and when the needle was retracted he shuddered lightly but made no complaints.

"There you go." The redhead smiled, "Not too bad right?"

Sanji glanced up and found the ginger watching him tenderly and if he weren't completely mentally scarred he might've taken the chance to flirt with her.

"Nope." Sanji gave a small smile, "Not that bad."

"I know it's kind of hard." The girl reassured, "But if you want to get better you're going to have to trust Chopper. And everyone else."

"I understand... uh..." Sanji fumbled for a name.

"I'm Nami." The girl introduced, "And once Chopper has cleared you, there's a bunch of people who would like to meet you."

"Who?"

Chopper smiled, "You're not the only one that has been rescued from that place. There's a bunch of people here like you and me."

"Other subjects?"

"That's right." Nami grinned, "Though most of us were rescued. I'm impressed you were able to get away, although it is probably a lot easier to get away when you have wings."

"You were rescued?" Sanji frowned.

"While in Impel did you hear about the Demonic Snatch?"

Sanji shook his head. There was very few conversations between inmates; most had lost the will to live, let alone talk. And those that did talk were either insane, or new to the prison. Ray and Apis were some rare cases; Sanji had spent most of his four years next to lunatics.

"What's is it?"

"It's a term the guards throw around. When they find cells empty with no explanation as to why. It's really us breaking others out." She gave Sanji a sly wink, "We have our methods of escaping."

"Wow..." Sanji marvelled, "That's amazing. So you two were rescued?"

"Yup." Nami grinned, "We haven't rescued many because it is still a very dangerous, but we do what we can."

"That's still amazing. So, why are you guys doing all of this?"

"Alright, so you need rest." Nami smiled deceptively, "Now can I trust you'll behave while alone with Chopper?"

"Absolutely." Sanji smiled sincerely. But immediately noted the quick change of conversation. There was clearly something big going on here; though what it was he was still unsure. He assumed he'd find out eventually, so for now he'd play their little game.

Nami gave an innocent wave as she headed out the door, "Get better!"

Sanji watched her go with a reluctant sigh. Even more than wanting to know the truth he wished she would stay and keep him company. She was amazingly beautiful, and charming to boot. Definitely a better beside companion than that grumpy green-haired man.

"Here." Chopper offered Sanji a pair of pants and a shirt, "You probably want clean clothes. And by the way, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Sanji."

Sanji nodded in thanks and shed his dirty,old pair of pants; pulling on the softest pair of sweats he could ever remember wearing. He quickly tied a knot with the strings so it wouldn't slid off his non-existent hips and picked up his shirt. As he was putting his hands into the sleeves he looked down at his body and froze.

For the first time that day he looked at his chest and noticed an odd abnormality. On his chest, where there should have been hair – there was none – instead there was a small plumage of feathers. He ran a distressed hand through them only to discover that they were firmly attached to his skin.

"Uh..." Sanji choked out, before he stumbled lightly to sit on the bed, "Chopper?"

"You didn't know?"

Sanji shook his head as he swallowed thickly, "Nope."

Chopper hopped up onto the bed and set about checking Sanji over, but pulled away soon with a frown, "They weren't here when you were brought in, but I guess they needed time to grow.

"I don't understand." Sanji mumbled, "How could this have happened?"

Chopper bit his lip, "There's only so much speculating I can do. What I really need is your file from Impel. Then I can see what they've done to you and figure out how to fix it."

"So, basically I'm stuck like this?"

"No," Chopper quickly defended, "Not necessarily."

"What you gonna do?" Sanji snorted, "Break into Impel."

"Um..." Chopper froze, looking extremely uncomfortable, "I'm not really allowed to tell you that yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Chopper stalled, "Rayliegh has to meet with you and make sure you're trustworthy. Then we can fill you in on what's going on but-"

"Of course." Sanji interrupted, "I knew it was strange for such a large base to be hidden in this mountain – and so close to Impel! You guys are going to break in, or take it down or something, right?"

Chopper looked at a loss and hung his head in defeat, "Yeah, but you aren't supposed to know yet."

"Don't worry." Sanji grinned, "Who am I gonna tell? Anyway, I have a need to break in there myself so this works out perfectly."

"Why do you need to break in?"

"I need to find someone," Sanji admitted, "And I guess also get my file so I can fix my body."

"I'll definitely make sure you get back to normal." Chopper grinned, "I'm sorry about the secrecy, but just know that I do trust you."

"You saved my life and looked after me." Sanji's eyes softened, "There's no reason not to trust you."

"Shut up! I would have done it for anyone!"

Sanji grinned at the realization that this kid couldn't possibly take a compliment. It was extremely adorable; he'd have to go out of his way to thank the kid as much as possible. He picked up his shirt and sighed as the realization dawned on him that he couldn't possibly wear it with the wings currently sprouting from his back.

"Sorry, but I don't think I can wear this." Sanji as he began folding the shirt, breaking Chopper out of his stupor of embarrassment.

Chopper cocked his head in confusion before his eyes widened, "Oh gosh. I'm so sorry Sanji! That was thoughtless of me."

"It's fine." Sanji grinned and set the shirt aside before patting his chest, "These feathers will keep me warm."

"You sure?"

"Definitely." Sanji curled his wings around himself, "See? I'm plenty warm."

"Alright..." Chopper murmured, "Anyway, are you okay with me doing a few more test? No more needles though."

"Go right ahead."

Chopper began going through a basic check-up procedure checking; temperature, hearing, sight, balance, movement and reflexes. After some more doctor speak Chopper explain that part of the injections to re-establish his balance for his wings had effected his senses. Sanji claimed he honestly hadn't noticed, but he had to admit that things definitely had more clarity, and his hearing was a little sharper. Other than that Chopper didn't seem to have any complaints.

"Your body is incredibly healthy for being in there for so long." Chopper ran a hoof over Sanji's forearm, "It's amazing really."

"I used to be really malnourished." Sanji admitted, "I was skeletal a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Chopper seemed intrigued, "What happened?"

"Well," Sanji muttered, "I was strapped to a table and had all sorts of IV's drained into me. Then I was knocked out for good few weeks while my wings grew. I woke up and my body was like this."

Chopper nodded thoughtfully, "They must have been giving you some sort of large protein supplements or control steroids. That's the only way I can explain such fast muscle growth."

At the mention of 'steroids' Sanji frowned, "Does that mean my body will start failing or something?"

"Oh no." Chopper shook his head, "You'll be fine. As long as you keep up a healthy diet. Though I will lay out a meal plan for you and some vitamin supplements. Your body is still not used to food so we will have to slowly ween you off of medication and back to solids. But with your rejuvenated body it should be in no time."

Sanji smiled gently, "Thank you Chopper."

Sanji wasn't quite sure _how_ a deer could blush, but Chopper accomplished it and also fell into a little swoon. Murmuring about how it was nothing and that Sanji should just shut up.

Sanji rolled his eyes before yawning loudly, this seemed to snap Chopper out of his little dance and back into his 'doctor mode'.

"I think it would be best to get some more sleep. I'll go get some soup started and bring you some when it's ready. Then we can see how your body does with something that simple in its system."

"Alright." Sanji nodded, "But can I go to the bathroom first?"

"Of course." Chopper nodded toward the door at the back of the room, "Just in there."

Sanji wandered into the bathroom, knocking himself slightly off balance when he forgot about his wings, clipped one on the side of the door and almost face planted into the stone floor. After righting himself and trying to hide a blush from the odd doctor he went to the toilet to relieve himself.

The bathroom was pretty barren; only inhabited by a toilet, sink and mirror. The toilet was formed from stone, which gave way to the question as to how it was possibly made and how it could even work this far underground. Surely there wasn't plumbing? The sink was a made from stone too, the basin jutted out from the rock wall. There was a hole in the stone wall above where a constant flow of water drizzled into the sink, and another hole in the sink that allowed the water to flow back into the wall. Perhaps it was runoff from the mountain that had been redirected?

Done, he went to the sink. Part of him felt horrified at the amount of water that sluiced down the sink and was being wasted, but he rationed that it was probably just from a creek outside. He cupped his hands and gathered a fair amount of water into his hands and splashed it on his face, relishing in the refreshing feeling.

Sanji looked up into the mirror and froze.

He had _changed._ A lot. The last time he had saw himself clearly he had been 21 and he had still looked so childish. Now his jaw and cheekbones were more pronounce – partially from being starved – and his hair had gotten ridiculously long. When before he had had a crew cut, it was now to about his shoulders. He also had a large amount of stubble; and though Impel had kept the subjects fairly well shaven so hair would not get in the way; he still needed to shave. He hadn't realized it had gotten so out of hand.

Brushing his bangs out of his eyes he found that they were the same familiar blue that he had experience his entire childhood. Something odd caught his eye and he frowned, leaning in toward the mirror. It took only a moment to realize that his eyebrow was different, not only longer, but curly.

"Chopper!"

The little deer came skidding into the bathroom, face riddled with panic, matching Sanji's look of horror.

"What?! What is it? Are you okay?!"

Sanji pointed at his eyebrows, "What the fuck is this?!"

"Oh..." Chopper trailed off nervously, "I thought you knew about that..."

"Knew?" Sanji gestured wildly to his face, "Do you think I'd be so calm if I _knew_ that my eyebrows were fucking curly!"

"It's actually not that bad. With your long hair they are mostly hidden anyway, plus they kind of seem... you."

Sanji groaned as he looked into the mirror and rubbed hopelessly at the swirl, "Wings, chest feathers. This is the last fucking thing I need."

"I'm sorry." Chopper mumbled quietly, "I thought you knew."

Sanji glanced at the small deer who was now brushing his hoof guilty at the floor.

"Hey," Sanji grinned, feeling terrible for making the innocent little deer feel at fault, "You are the last person who has to be sorry. I was just shocked, so I flipped. Sorry."

"I'll see what I can do about them though." Chopper reassured, "They are definitely the side effect of some sort of chemical experiment. Come over and let me take a quick look."

Sanji found himself on the bed once more as Chopper inspected the brow with care. He finally pulled away with a huff, "It should be fairly easy to cure. I'll need to make an anti-androgenic remedy to cancel the growth of hair in that area. Until then I would recommended not shaving it. It will just cause the hairs to growth back thicker."

Sanji sighed, this was the last thing he needed. But he assumed that Chopper was right about one thing; his hair was convenient enough to hide the odd brows.

"Thank you Chopper. Really."

"Just get some rest now, idiot." Chopper blushed as he hopped down from the bed, "I'm going to get that soup started."

Chopper left and Sanji lay down on the comfortable bed once more. His stomach grumbled lightly at the mere thought of delicious broth; though his mind couldn't quite remember what it would taste or feel like. But regardless anything other than pills would be absolute heaven.

~X~

A few day passed and Sanji had easily been able to ween himself off of medication and onto broth and liquid sustenance. His body didn't have a single bad reaction, and his digestive system readjusted to the new source of nutrients without fail. Chopper assumed that the steroids had not only recovered Sanji's muscles but had rebuilt his organs as well.

Sanji sipped at the soup but kept his restraint in check to not just gulp down the delicious broth. It was simple chicken and noodles, but was probably the most delicious thing had ever tasted. Nothing, not even the finest steak would probably ever compare to the soups he had had this past week.

Sanji set down the bowl, and nodded to the expectant Chopper, "I feel fine."

"That's good." Chopper smiled, "But remember that if you _ever_ feel _any_ dis –"

"– comfort that I'll immediately tell you." Sanji laughed when Chopper pouted and he ruffled the top of the deer's head, "I _know._ Chopper, you don't have to worry. I want my body to get better, I'm not going to be stupid."

"How do you feel strength wise?"

"My body feels great." Sanji smiled, "I've honestly gotten bored with sleeping and just sitting in here."

"Well," Chopper began with a smile, "That's good because I wanted to tell you that besides needing to keep your diet in check you have nothing else medically wrong with you. So if you want to go out you can."

Sanji grinned, "I'd love to. I want to meet everyone."

"Alright." Chopper smiled, "Just don't get freaked out."

"Why on earth would I get 'freaked out'?"

~X~

Sanji looked around the room at the oddest collage of people you could possibly find on the entire planet. True there were odd cases in Impel, but it was almost like the oddest had been selected to greet him at once. He would've felt awkward but they seemed to be just as curious about his odd appearance.

There was a boy whose entire body had been completely turned to rubber, the green-haired man that seemed to have inhumane strength, the ginger girl – Nami – who had that strange metal staff in her hand, a boy with mechanical arms and donned a pair of goggles, the talking deer – Chopper – whom was their doctor, a woman who had somehow managed to sprout an extra arm to keep the rubber boy at bay, a man with crazy blue hair whose body looked more machine than human, and a incredibly tall man with an afro whose entire bone structure was glowing a bright green making it almost impossible to see any of his facial features.

They were all talking at once so he could hardly discern two words as they were taking turns embracing him and congratulating him on his escape. A few of the hugs were bone-crushingly painful and left him feeling more than a little sore, and while he was being noogied to death by the blue-haired robot he was pretty sure he felt the rubber boy wrapping himself around Sanji's leg.

The blessed redhead – Nami – finally managed to get everyone to calm down, but the boy remained firmly attached to one of Sanji's legs.

"Sorry about that." Nami grinned.

Sanji quickly shook his head with a grin, "Oh no. It's fine. I'm just not to sure what I'm supposed to say."

The boy around his leg perked up, "Can you really fly?! Would you give me a ride? What's your name? "

The boy with curly hair tutted, "Luffy, watch the order of your questions."

Sanji grinned down at Luffy, "Yes, I can fly. No I don't give rides. And my name is Sanji."

Luffy pouted and made a disappointed sound, but refused to budge from Sanji's leg as the curly haired boy extended his hand, "I'm Usopp. It's nice to finally meet you."

Sanji shook the boy's hand and purposely made sure not to look at the mechanical appendage. And soon he was being introduced around and finally learning the names of these rambunctious people.

Sanji vaguely noticed the green-haired man roll his eyes and snorted derisively before turning and leaving the room. Sanji wasn't one for attention – at the moment he felt grossly smothered – but the way the man had almost been mocking Sanji was more than enough to piss the blond off.

Was it something he did? He couldn't think of anything.

Sanji inwardly scowled before turning his attention to a lovely ebony haired woman who had come to greet him.

* * *

A/N:

[1] androgens: the chemical within testosterone that causes the growth of hair


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Of The Sky

Author: auspizien

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: M (violence, language and sexual themes)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji, For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

* * *

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back."

-Henry David Thoreau

In the end they had all begun a game of poker as Sanji learned more about each of these unique people. Luffy managed barely a game before taking off to do something else and the elegant dark haired woman – Robin – sat near the fireplace with a book in her lap. Chopper was sitting at the table watching the game and the green-haired man was only god knew where.

The curly haired boy Usopp turned out to be a compulsive liar, but mostly only for humorous purposes. He had tried and failed miserably to convince Sanji that he was a pro-poker star in his former life before Impel. After one game it was clear the boy had never played a game in his life. He covered up his embarrassment by showing Sanji how he could make his mechanic hands reconstruct themselves and form new tools in their place; a slingshot, a yoyo, a screwdriver.

Usopp tossed in five and had held a promising poker face for a moment before breaking down in chuckles. Either the boy had a good hand and was stupid, or he had a terrible hand and was bluffing. Judging from his terrible lying in the first game Sanji knew he was bluffing.

Franky turned out to be the blue-haired cyborg, who was extremely over-the-top, had an addiction to Barbarosa cocktails and was the mastermind behind the entire set up of the underground base. Sanji had immediately struck up a conversation as to how the whole thing was set up and maintained.

"It's genius." Franky gloated, "Runoff redirected underground. Then you just make tunnels through the rock. Don't need any plumbing."

"I'm impressed." Sanji complimented, "I was wondering how on earth the sink worked."

Franky chuckled, "Every water source here is straight off the mountain. Don't want to be destroying the area too much. Also don't want Impel getting suspicious."

"Fair enough." Sanji conceded and turned back to the pot, glanced at his cards then grabbed several chips, "Raise you 20."

Franky glanced at his cards and huffed, "Fold."

Nami ended up winning the round, and Usopp and Brooke immediately called her out on cheating and saying that she switched cards or some other nonsense. Sanji found it hilarious mostly just because they weren't playing with actual money and it honestly didn't really matter. And to be fair if she was sneaky enough to cheat and not get caught then good for her.

As the deck was shuffled and re-dealt by Brooke, Sanji began talking to Nami. She explained how her body had become permanently electrified and that the pole was a grounding device so she wouldn't electrify or kill anyone she touched. Sanji wondered how on earth she could be so content when she carried such a burden. She went on to explain how Luffy had rescued her because his body wasn't affected by electricity and Sanji smiled at how obvious she was being.

The small tucking of hair behind her ear, the light blush and a gorgeous smile whenever she said his name. Sanji sighed, the rubber boy was one lucky shithead.

"But Chopper thinks he can cure it." Nami smiled optimistically, and glanced at the deer, "And I believe he can do it."

Chopper mustn't of heard because he didn't break out in a blush.

"He says if he can find out how they charged my body he can negate it. Until then Usopp and Franky are working on a pair of shoes so I won't have to carry this." She held up her staff lightly. "So far no luck but I'm just flattered that they're trying."

Sanji glanced at Brooke who promptly messed up dealing and blamed it on the fact that he was a skeleton. Usopp was shouting at him saying that he wasn't an actual skeleton and that it wasn't an excuse. Sanji laughed lightly and turned back to Nami.

"They seem nice."

Nami nodded, "You'll get used to them really fast; we only broke Brooke out a few months ago."

Sanji raised an eyebrow skeptically, "From the way they act you really couldn't tell."

"I know." Nami sighed in exasperation, "And they only get worse."

Sanji laughed and the cards were finally dealt for another round. Sanji began talking to Brooke and could say that the man was easily described as a pervert. Mostly because he wasn't actually paying attention to the game and was just staring down Nami's shirt the entire time. Though Sanji really couldn't blame him; she had a fantastic rack. But besides that he was an extremely talented musician; everyone backing him up on this claim too.

Apparently there was not a single instrument he couldn't play and even offered to go grab his violin.

"Nuh-uh." Nami protested, "You're not getting out of this game."

"Nami." Brooke looked appalled, "You think I would do something so cowardly?"

"I don't think it. I know it." Nami pointed to the pot, "Make your move."

Brooke sighed and doubled the bet. The game went on a bit longer, but once again Nami won, and Sanji just laughed at the frustration showing on everyone else's faces. One final game was started, and it went for a few rounds before once more coming to Brooke who sat mulling over his cards.

Brooke finally set down his hand, "I'm afraid I fold. I'm far too hungry to continue this game."

Sanji perked up at that, "Do you have a kitchen?"

"Of course." Franky boasted, "I can build anything."

"I bet." Sanji conceded, "Who do you have cooking?"

"We just raid the fridge as needed." Usopp shrugged.

Sanji grinned, "Do you mind if I cook you guys dinner? It's the least I can do."

Franky and Usopp exchanged a look and they both grinned, "Definitely."

~X~

Sanji grinned happily as he set to work in the kitchen. This was something that he could do. Before he had got dragged off to Impel he had been a chef at restaurant. The pay had been good and he had been saving up so he could go to college and get a proper education. In what, he hadn't yet decided.

But cooking, it just brought back good memories of the times he had been crammed in the back with all the ovens making him perspire and the other chefs pissing him off. It was a skill that he actually enjoyed and while he was still unsure about his future, he was beginning to think that cooking might be the way to go.

There was a surplus of food, but from what he had seen so far with clothing, furniture and other technology he assumed that the crew must have made regular trips into civilization to restock. There were several bags of berries hidden in the fridge that looked hand-picked, and a few fish that were in the freezer that were clearly self-caught.

At least they seemed to be feeding themselves in a healthy way, he grinned with purpose as he began to pull out some of the salmon and other ingredients he would need. Running the frozen fish under the stone fountain sink he began pulling out some of the berries and tried to bring to mind some old recipes. He figured something simple to get his hands and mind back into the aspect of cooking would be best. Turning on the oven he began heating up a frying pan as he set to work on making the berries into a sauce.

When he finished he felt infinitely more relaxed, and proud that he hadn't gotten horribly sloppy over the past four years. He set down the pan-seared salmon and side of cranberry remoulade in front of the waiting crew of eight and tried not to laugh at the shocked expression on their faces.

"This looks amazing," Nami broke the silence, "Like... professional."

Sanji grinned, "Your praise means a lot."

Luffy immediately dug in and moaned around a mouthful, "Ish shooo goodf."

Everyone dug in and Sanji realized how much he missed the unequivocal feeling of people eating food that he had made. Though most ate with a speed and fashion that had him slightly concerned that they might choke. Nami and Robin seemed to be taking their time and enjoying it. And then there was that green-haired brute.

He sat at the end of the table and ate in silence, said nothing but throughout the shouting and sounds of eating it was hardly noticed by anyone. He finished, took the plate into the kitchen and then immediately left. Sanji tried to squash down the small annoyance that the man didn't seem to find the food in any way spectacular. He had basically ate with the vigour and excitement as though it were a bowl of oatmeal. Sanji brushed aside his petty annoyance and turned to his own plate; still on Chopper's eating plan he had kept to mostly soft foods.

When almost every plate was cleared, Sanji stood and began clearing the table.

"Sanji. That was amazing." Nami offered sincerely, "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Old job." Sanji smiled, "And I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Have to agree." Brooke interjected, "That was the best meal I've had in years."

"Absolutely." Chopper chirped up.

The rest spoke up too and Sanji could feel his cheeks begin to burn before he humbly accepted their compliments. He tried to hide his blush behind his hair as he gathered up the rest of the empty dishes. Sanji reached for one of Luffy's plates, the boy grinned up from his fifth fish, "It's official. You're now cooking all our meals."

"With your stomach; that's a full-time job." Usopp snickered.

"Yeah," Nami interjected, "We can't put that work load on him."

"It's fine," Sanji interjected as he grabbed Franky's plate, "I feel like I need to be doing something around here anyway."

"You sure, bro?" Franky asked, "We are all pretty good at managing ourselves. This kid doesn't even need his food cooked," He jerked his thumb to Luffy who was trying to cram his fish into his elastic mouth.

"It would be an honour." Sanji grinned and gave a small bow.

"What do you think Chopper?" Nami asked the small deer who was currently licking up the last of the remoulade.

Chopper lowered the plate with a blush, not noticing the spot of red sauce on his nose, "He's completely healthy in every aspect; I can't give a medical reason as to why he shouldn't be up and about."

"Alright." Nami raised her hand in defeat and pointed at Luffy, "If you want to torture yourself by feeding this monster by all means."

Sanji smirked, "I like a challenge."

~X~

Robin sat at the table, engrossed in a book as Sanji gathered the remaining dishes and made his way into the kitchen. Sanji was pleased to note that the crazy bunch at least didn't leave a scrap of food – Luffy was probably to thank for that – but it definitely made washing up afterwards an easy chore. He was pretty sure some of the plates must've been licked clean. He snorted lightly as he set to work.

Usopp, Brooke and surprisingly Luffy all bid good night and had made their way to their rooms. Franky decided to mix himself a drink and Chopper sat in front of the fire with some papers. Nami had brought out some documents, and judging from the secretive way she went to sit at a desk on the other end of the room; they most likely involved Impel. Whatever they and this Rayliegh man were planning must've been important.

Being accused of being untrustworthy stung a little but he completely understood why he wasn't quite trusted yet. He would be suspicious too of anyone from Impel. But until he was cleared by this Rayliegh guy he'd just have to settle for being a bit out of the loop. He had nothing to hide so he was sure soon enough he'd be completely trusted.

Sanji set the last of the dishes in the rack to dry and set down the dishcloth after wringing it out, he exited the kitchen and went back into the rec-room. Robin was still at the table and he silently joined her. He didn't try to engage in conversation, nor read over her shoulder – he knew just how annoying that could be – he just enjoyed having a calm, and friendly human in his presence.

Sanji glanced around the room and noticed Nami was furiously scribbling away and jotting notes for something on one of the large blue-prints. Franky was passed out on the couch by the fireplace with his empty glass grasped loosely in his hand, and Chopper was curled up on the carpet sleeping, his papers forgotten. That weird green-haired guy was still unaccounted for.

Everyone seemed used to the man's behaviour and didn't say anything about it; his presence hadn't even really been acknowledged at dinner. Sanji assumed the man must be wandering around outside just like he had been when he had found Sanji. Still, Sanji really wanted to meet him, and a least know his name. He still hadn't been able to properly thank the green-haired man for rescuing him.

A door opened and the guy sauntered in with a fancy sword in his hand and a bag in the other. No one looked up or said anything to him; he took a seat by the wall, cross-legged as he emptied the bag of a few jars, some stones and a small weird brush. He lay the sword across his lap while he opened one of the jars and picked up a stone. Dipping the rock in, he pulled it out wet and began to slowly drag it along the edge of the blade.

"Who is he?"

Robin looked up from her book, "Who?"

Sanji tilted his head toward the corner of the room, where the green-haired man sat – attending to his sword – still cleaning it with care.

"That's Zoro Roronoa."

"Oh." Sanji frowned lightly. Roronoa. It sounded familiar, he was sure he had heard it somewhere before. Like a name that was said often but never really comprehended.

"He's been here longer than any of us. Broke out just like you. But he keeps to himself mostly; doesn't trust people easily. He still suspects me sometimes." Robin confided with a slight smirk.

"Why doesn't he trust you?" Sanji asked, appalled. She was such a beautiful, friendly woman; how could anyone hold ill intentions against her?

"I used to work for Impel. Before, well..." Robin trailed off, looking away forlornly.

Sanji placed his hand on hers a squeezed lightly, "You don't need to say anything. I understand." The place was cruel, and it wasn't really a shock to Sanji that the staff would turn on one another. It was sick and disturbing, but somehow expected.

"Anyway," Robin continued, "If he seems cold and distant; don't be offended. That's just how he is."

Sanji took the obvious hint that she wanted the subject diverted from herself, and quietly reconciled that. He glanced over at Zoro who had now pulled out the odd brush and was dabbing at the edge of the blade gently. When he looked back at Robin she graced him with a smile before turning back to her book.

Sanji couldn't quite decipher what her smirk had inferred but he assumed that she was a woman of many riddles and that it was just how she interacted with people. He looked back at the green-haired man and smirked lightly.

_Zoro, huh?_

~X~

Sanji found that he fell into the groove of things while staying with this group of misfits. They all loved and respected each other with only the compassion that a family could. No matter how annoying that rubber boy might be, no one truly got angry at him. And while Brooke was sometimes a pervert; it was just ignored.

Sanji had been fully accepted without question, and he found himself being dragged into Usopp and Luffy's shenanigans on occasion. Though more often than not he found himself hounded by those two, and occasionally Chopper, for sweets and goodies. And he usually gave in too.

He was currently in the kitchen getting some sandwiches ready for lunch. He sliced the bread expertly, each slice the exact width of the one before it. Sanji pushed the slices to the side to start preparing the fillings when he noticed the small extra piece of bread. He picked up the small chunk that had come from the end of the loaf and thought of the small girl he had given his bread to in Impel. He didn't want to think the worst had happened, but he hardly had any evidence otherwise. And how would he ever find out the truth?

He had told Chopper that he wanted to find someone in Impel, and indeed he did want to find Apis. But a strong feeling in his gut told him he might not find her alive. It hurt, and the last thing he wanted was to find her mangled and tortured body. But he owed it to her to get her body – alive or dead – out of that place.

Sanji's lungs began to ache and he replaced the bread and the vegetables in the fridge and decided that the crew would last an hour without lunch. And if they got impatient they could scrounge something up themselves if they were that hungry. He made his way to Chopper's infirmary, knocking gently.

"Chopper?" Sanji called out for the small deer.

The door opened and a small brown head poked out from around a corner before he completely emerged and motioned for Sanji to enter the room, "What is it?"

"I was wondering if I could go outside?"

Chopper looked like he was about to protest but Sanji continued.

"I wouldn't fly. I won't until you give me permission but I just really need a breath of fresh air right now."

Chopper seemed to sense the silent urgency in Sanji's voice, "By all means Sanji. You're allowed to do whatever you want. Just so long as you hold of on the flying for now. I _promise_ you'll be using your wings soon."

Sanji grinned, "Thanks Chopper."

Sanji was out of the room before Chopper could even start his blushing and cursing at Sanji. He vaguely remembered the way out, and though he got turned around once he eventually found himself outside of the same door that Zoro had shown him the first day. He'd been outside several times since that first day, but he had never really explored the forest yet; he intended to make the most of the opportunity this time.

Once more the valley took on a picturesque scene, and he vaguely wondered if he'd ever get bored of the beauty of nature now. The sun was still fairly high in the sky and was warm on Sanji's bare skin, and it lit up the trees of the forest as they swayed happily in the wind.

Sanji glanced around at the rocky area, before finding a fairly adequate piece of shale. The dark stone was smooth and light, and would serve its purpose perfectly. He quickly made his way down into the forest line of the mountain, taking welcome shelter in the trees and shade.

The mulch and pine needles felt strangely comforting under his bare feet, each twinge of pain caused by a small twig was a welcome pinch to know that indeed everything around him was real. The large redwoods and alder towered over him and were so large it would take a couple people to stand holding hands to reach around its base. They sheltered him from the glare of the afternoon sun perfectly.

Every so often he would find a strange flower – bright reds, vibrant blues and soft purples – that he would pick and add to a bouquet he had started. He kept gathering flowers until he founded the perfect spot; at the base of an elegant oak. It wasn't nearly as big as the fellow reds but was still sturdy. He laid down the rock at the base, running his hand over the smooth surface before tucking the bouquet between the trunk and the rock, so it looked like the flowers were blooming from behind the headstone.

Sanji's hand paused on the earth for a moment before he stood and bowed his head saying a silent pray for the little girl; hoping for her safety.

"Who are those for?"

Sanji jumped and whirled around to find the damned rubber boy hanging from a low branch watching Sanji, "Damn you Luffy. Don't sneak up on people."

"I wasn't sneaking." Luffy grinned, "You just weren't paying attention."

"Whatever." Sanji couldn't stop the smile that slipped through at Luffy's behaviour.

Luffy jumped down from the tree, adjusting his odd wicker backpack and made his way over to the makeshift grave, his tone changing from playful to serious, "Who's that for?"

"Apis." Sanji mumbled, "She was the little girl in the cell next to mine; she disappeared shortly before I left."

Luffy took off his hat – the straw crunching lightly under his grip – and placed it over his heart. He didn't say anything, but respectfully watched her monument in silence. A bird started up a tiny song, and the wind rustled the trees making a melody all its own. He watched as the flowers fluttered lightly and felt his chest constrict. Sanji forced down the sadness and turned to Luffy, the boy staring intently at the grave with a mourning expression.

"Thanks Luffy."

Luffy cocked his head to the side before popping his hat back on his head, "For what?"

"For caring."

"Of course I'm going to care." Luffy grinned, "You're my friend."

"You think of me as a friend?" Sanji tilted his head, "What about that whole Rayliegh thing?"

Luffy snorted, "I'm allowed to make my own decisions. And I trust you. Sure Rayliegh is in charge; but he's not the be all and end all."

Sanji gave one last look at the monument and turned away, "That means a lot Luffy."

"Hey!" Luffy perked up, "Wanna see where I was going?"

"Sure." Sanji shrugged, "Why not?"

Luffy started off through the forest as he began to sing a little song about the compass directions and the different seasons, and Sanji kept in step beside him. Several times he would catch his wing on a branch, but otherwise the forest floor was easily navigational.

"By the way," Luffy stopped singing to look at Sanji, "Don't give up yet."

"What do you mean?" Sanji frowned.

"On Apis." Luffy smiled, "You don't know for sure what happened. People are moved around all the time; she could've just been moved to a new cell."

Sanji nodded slowly, "I hope so."

"Anything you believe is possible; is possible. If you believe that she is dead, she very well could be."

Sanji frowned slightly, the kid could be oddly wise at times; though his usually demeanour showed nothing but foolishness and childishness. And as they continued on through the underbrush he mulled over the boy's words, wondering and hoping against hope that Apis was indeed okay.

Sanji began to hear the gurgling and bubbling of the creek long before they reached it. The creek flowed by happily, the water so clear Sanji's could easily see the bottom. Pebbles and sand decorated the bottom, a frog squatted by the side croaking loudly as a few fish lazily made their way by.

Luffy set down the wicker bag on the bank and jumped into the creek as Sanji sat on a fallen tree and let his feet rest in the ice cold water. It felt amazing and countered the heat of the autumn sun. A slight breeze swept by and Sanji couldn't stop a goofy smile that lit up his face; he would never take something as simple as this for granted ever again.

Luffy set about trying to catch a fish, though most attempts ended with him face-planting into the creek and coming up sputtering and coughing. Sanji was holding his gut laughing, he wasn't sure if the boy was doing it on purpose or not to cheer him up; but it was working.

Sanji finally jumped down and landed in the creek, water rushing by his knees.

"Here try this."

Sanji cautiously dipped his hand into the creek and remained motionless. After a while fish began to drift closer to Sanji's legs and hand, and soon a few curious ones were coming up and tasting Sanji's skin. In a quick movement he twisted his hand around and latched firmly onto the body of the fish, pulling it out of the water triumphantly.

"See?" Sanji grinned around the fish wriggling and flailing in his grip, "You gotta be patient."

"Screw that." Luffy snorted before setting about knitting his fingers together and pulling them apart to make a net.

Sanji watched with a raised eyebrow as Luffy put his make shift net into the creek and began running up stream collecting a bundle of fish into his hands. He couldn't help the disbelieving laugh as Luffy brought his hands out of the water and had about ten fish squirming and jumping around in his clasped and stretched hands.

Luffy made his way to the shore and deposited all of the fish into the wicker basket.

"That's how you do it." Luffy grinned cheekily.

Sanji smirked at the challenge, "Bring it on, rubberboy."

Sanji immediately set about waiting for more fish to come near him as Luffy began knitting his fingers together again. Sanji managed to get three more fish before Luffy had even finished getting his 'net' ready.

"C'mon Luffy." Sanji chuckled as he scooped up another fish, "You're making this too easy."

"I got it. I got it." Luffy mumbled before his hand slipped and a finger snapped back to hit the boy in the face.

Sanji burst out laughing and all the fish surrounding his legs disappeared in flash. Luffy rolled on the bank of the creek holding his face as he squealed, and Sanji almost fell over as he clutched his stomach and guffawed.

There was a crack of a branch being stepped on, and Sanji looked up sharply all humour lost as he prepared for whatever it might be. It turned out to only be Zoro; but with that dead-set scowl on his face, a bear or mountain lion might have been more welcoming. At least maybe a bit friendlier.

Luffy untangled his fingers and grinned, "We're catching fish. You wanna help?"

"Later. Ope needs to see you."

"Aw come on." Luffy goaded, "It's fun. And I don't wanna go to no stinking meeting."

"Luffy." Zoro commanded, his voice hard and something unspoken hanging in the air.

Luffy sighed and rolled his eyes, "Zoro. Stop it."

Zoro didn't falter and just watched the rubber boy with that scowl set on his face.

Luffy snorted before it seemed like he finally gave in. Standing up, he slung the wicker basket over his shoulder being careful not to lose any fish, "We'll hang later Sanji. I need to go see Law."

"Luffy," Zoro yelled after the boy who had already taken off into the bush, "Zip it."

"Boo!" Luffy pouted angrily before he was completely out of sight by the redwoods.

Sanji scowled, clearly Zoro had not wanted him to hear that conversation, and he had even gotten pissed when Luffy had let slip that name; Law. Who was he? He certainly wasn't in the base. But Sanji was more than used to the secretive conversations that were passed around. He of course understood that he wasn't yet trusted, but it was still a little annoying.

"Let's get back to base." Zoro ordered before setting off into the brush, not even glancing back to see if Sanji was following.

Sanji quickly hopped out of the creek and ran to catch up to Zoro. He honestly didn't know the way back so following the green-haired man was probably the best option. They walked in silence as they always did, but Sanji figured now was better than any opportunity to thank the man.

"Hey," Sanji called after Zoro.

Zoro halted and glanced back at Sanji, that same cold wall was in place over the man's emotions, "What do you need?"

Sanji ignored the rude tone and continued, "I've been meaning to thank you for what you did."

Zoro didn't say a thing, just watched Sanji with a cold, calculating look.

"You know," Sanji stumbled a little over his words, "For saving me. And bringing me back to your base. If you hadn't I'd – I'd probably be back in Impel right now."

Sanji paused as he actually considered how lucky he was. What were the odds of him escaping and landing right at the man's feet? And not only that, but someone who could take him somewhere safe and give him medical attention. And what was the man even doing out there so close to Impel?

Sanji quickly got off that train of thought and looked Zoro in the eyes, "So thank you."

Zoro raised a brow, and remained quiet for sometime before nodding in understanding.

Sanji watched as Zoro walked away and tried to ignore the feeling of reject building up in his stomach. The icy-bastard had brushed him off like he was nothing and that was the ultimate piss off. Sanji snapped, he reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him around, "What the fuck is your problem with me?"

"Excuse me?" Zoro raised a brow.

"Look," Sanji stated hotly, "I get that you're not a friendly type of guy; I guess that's just your personality. But fuck, why do you keep looking at me like I'm something on the bottom of your boot?"

Zoro blinked once before calmly assessing Sanji, "You haven't been cleared by Rayliegh."

"So what?!" Sanji implored, "Luffy trusts me! What's so special about Rayliegh?"

"Luffy is still a child." Zoro scowled, "He doesn't understand that people lie."

"He seems to understand a hell of a lot more than you do." Sanji accused harshly.

"Don't come into our lives and think you know anything. You have no idea what's going on."

"Of course not!" Sanji yelled, "Cause you won't fucking tell me anything. So _excuse me_ for being an oblivious ass!"

"You'd be oblivious and an ass no matter what I'd tell you." Zoro snapped.

"Say that again." Sanji growled low.

"No." Zoro huffed, "I shouldn't even be having this conversation with you. Why Chopper allowed you out is beyond me."

"Cause he trusts me!" Sanji snarled, "Why can't you just judge for yourself too? Why Rayliegh?"

"I'm not permitted to tell you such information." Zoro monotoned.

Sanji's brows drew together as his disbelief began to mount, "Holy fuck. Do you really not trust me that much?!"

Zoro closed his eyes and shrugged, "For all I know you could be a spy."

"For who?!" Sanji shouted, "Impel?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"This isn't a kidding matter." Zoro's eyes narrowed, "How do I know you aren't working for them?"

Sanji gaped, gesturing harshly toward his wings, "Are you fucking _blind_?!"

Zoro scowled, "I'm not taking any chances. It could just be a deception."

Sanji was pretty sure his look of outrage and confusion was going to ingrain permanent lines into face, he took an aggressive step toward Zoro, "What person would willingly having this done to them? Are you really that stupid, or are you just that fucking insecure? Do you have trust issues or something?"

Zoro growled low and stepped directly into Sanji's personal space, "Yeah, I do. Because the last thing I need is an over zealous prick getting me and my friends thrown back into that place!"

"Well fuck you!" Sanji retorted through gritted teeth.

They gave each other one final heated glare before both turned on their heels and marched off in opposite directions. Sanji was so furious he wanted to hurt something, break something, or maybe even punch something. He ran full tilt toward a clearing up ahead, wings flapping hard as he launched himself into the sky.

Sanji broke through the canopy, leaves and several branches being knocked free from his violent take-off. The wind rushed by his face, and the sun shone brightly on his skin but it hardly calmed his anger. He landed on the branch of a tall tree and grabbed his hair in frustration and screamed once – a flock of birds taking to the air in surprise – before turning and slamming his fist into the trunk.

"Fuck you! You god damned son of a fucking – aarrgghh!"

Sanji dropped into a crouch holding his head as he groaned in annoyance.

That fucking god damned green-haired bastard could go fucking die for all he cared. He had finally gotten out of Impel – where his trust in humanity had been shaken – and all he wanted was human camaraderie and people that would just fucking respect and trust him. Was that too much to ask for?

It seemed like it. But everyone else trusted him. Or at least hid their mistrust in the guise of hugs, laughs and general cheerfulness. Zoro just flaunted his mistrust for the world to see and didn't seem to give a damn. Sanji sighed heavily and fell back until he was sitting on the abnormally large branch.

The tree that he had chosen to land on was a bit taller than most of the surrounding red's and he was able to see over the tops of most. Remaining hidden in the shade of the higher branches of the tree Sanji sat and watched the world go by and slowly calmed his raging emotions.

A blue bird began building a nest in a beech tree, singing a happy tune as it worked diligently. Two squirrels began a game of tag which ensued all over the neighbouring trees. Their incessant chittering mixed with the rustling of the leaves in the wind and Sanji remained motionless as the sun slowly made its way across the sky.

At around late afternoon Usopp had wandered by below the tree calling for Sanji. For a moment Sanji felt obligated to go down to him, but he realized that Zoro probably had sent Usopp out to look for him. Probably thought Sanji was more likely to go along willingly if it was someone he actually liked.

Sanji snorted and didn't move from his spot until the sun came rest on the far off mountain tops – settling like an orb on a mantel – and Usopp had long since given up on finding Sanji. The shades of the sky transformed until the once baby blue was replaced by a gentle purple. The last rays of light eventually sunk behind the snow capped mountains and a chilled breeze of fall swept around him.

He pushed himself to his feet with a regretful sigh and hopped out of the tree, wings flapping gently as he lowered himself to the forest floor. Leaving the outer world was not something he wanted to do, but his feathers only provided so much warmth before he began to feel his skin tingle from the cold.

Sanji found his way back to the hidden entrance with little trouble, and slowly made his way to Chopper's infirmary. Wanting nothing more than to sink into the soft bed and sleep away everything; the fatigue of the day, his anger at Zoro, and his need to return outside. When he opened the door to the doctor's office and Chopper looked up, assessed Sanji's state, and immediately frowned; Sanji knew he was in for it.

Chopper sighed in disapproval, "You went flying didn't you?"

Sanji looked to the side with a scowl, "It was Zoro's fault."

Chopper raised an eyebrow, and looked at him as though he were a child, "Zoro?"

"Yeah." Sanji scowled, "If he wasn't such a fucking dick then I'd-"

Chopper huffed before interrupting Sanji, "I don't care if Zoro pushed you off a cliff, you broke your promise."

It was amazing how just a look from this small deer made him feel astronomically guilty, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. But I think you should have a bath and relax your muscles, just to make sure you didn't do any damage." Sanji nodded and turned to leave when Chopper spoke up, "By the way, how did your wings feel?"

"No pain at all." Sanji smiled, "Actually they were feeling cramped so it felt amazing."

Chopper shook his head, "Alright. But after your bath let me take a final look just to make sure you didn't tear anything."

"Will do." Sanji chirped before leaving the infirmary and heading toward the large underground hot spring that was incorporated into the hideout. Franky had explained that it was just normal runoff from the mountain that he diverted into a hot water heater before allowing it to drain into the pool-like bathing area. Then the water continued through a drain and eventually converged with the creek outside.

He ran into Usopp in the rec-room and the boy smiled, "Hey! Sanji. I was looking for you. We were getting worried you got lost."

Sanji smiled, "Ah, I'm sorry. I kind of lost track of time."

"Meh." Usopp shrugged, "It's fine. I know the feeling. After finally getting out all you want to do is be outside."

Sanji felt a little guilty that he had forced this kind boy to run around through the woods looking for him, "It means a lot that you were looking for me. Thank you."

"Oh." Usopp scratched the back of his neck whiling grinning, "Well, your welcome. So what're you up too?"

"Going to take bath." Sanji grinned, "Chopper's worried I might have strained something."

"Yeah." Usopp smirked, "He's like that."

"Ever get better?"

"Nope."

Sanji laughed before reaching out and patting the boy on the shoulder, "Well that's good to know. I'll see ya later."

He made his way past Usopp and the boy called out, "Later."

Sanji still felt bad for hiding from Usopp, but he knew that the boy had only been sent by Zoro and there was no way in hell he wanted to give Zoro the satisfaction of knowing he had control over Sanji. He arrived outside the bathing room and the door opened just before Sanji could put his hand on the knob. Zoro emerged; clothed with a towel held haphazardly in one hand as he ran it through his hair.

They stood facing each other for a long moment glaring daggers at the other before Zoro stepped out into the hallway and purposefully nudged Sanji – though it felt more like a full on punch. The blond retaliated by snapping his wing, and giving Zoro a face full of feathers.

Zoro sent Sanji a withering look before taking off down the hall and Sanji in turn stepped into the bathing room and slammed the door. He stood for a moment; hands clenched at his sides, face scrunched, and seething. First a verbal attack, now a physical. It was almost like the man was _trying_ to get Sanji to hit him.

Roughly divesting himself of his pants, he strode over to the edge of the giant stone pool and jumped in; sighing as his entire body was enveloped in the hot water. He leaned his head back against the edge and just sat and let all his muscles relax, but as he sat his mind wandered and he began thinking of Zoro which only caused him to tense in annoyance.

Did that ass really hate him so much as to keep antagonizing him? Maybe it was stupid dominance thing and Zoro was trying to make sure Sanji knew he was in charge? Or some bullshit like that. God...

Damn it!

Sanji turned and rested his chin on the edge of the pool; that attitude just made Sanji want to give Zoro a good foot to the face. Maybe a rock would be more effective against that super-human idiot. Or a shovel? A shovel would definitely leave some damage... When his thoughts began turning to knives he purposefully stopped himself.

Sanji sighed resignedly and tried to derail his train of thought, instead opting for glancing around the bathroom. He had been in here once before; while under Chopper's care the deer had requested him to clean up for sanitary purposes. The bath had been short but amazing, and he had been able to shave that itchy stubble. His hair was still unruly in length, but he had come to love it. Not only did it hide his now stupid eyebrows, but it was as Chopper said; it suited him.

He set to work cleaning himself; washing his body and scrubbing his hair clean. For a moment he considered washing his wings but then snorted, there was no way he had enough time to do that, and honestly; they were feathers. He really didn't think it mattered.

Sanji worked the lotion into his hair before dunking his head under the boiling water, ruffling his hair to get all the suds out. He came up for breath and wiped the water from his eyes, face still stinging lightly from the hot water. Damn, but he definitely needed this. He already felt more relaxed.

Sanji pulled himself out of the pool and wrapped a towel around his waist before setting about drying his hair with another. He flapped his wings several times feeling akin to a dog who would shake it's wet coat to get dry. Once he was dry and his feathers were only semi-damp, he pulled on his pants and made his way back to Chopper's room to be checked over.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: Next chapter is already written, I'm just editing it so it'll be up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: M(violence, language, and sexual themes)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji, For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

* * *

"The reason birds can fly and we can't

is simply that they have perfect faith,

for to have faith is to have wings."

-Sir James Matthew Barrie

* * *

Franky had left to get some mechanical supplies to fix up the broken water heater and had taken Usopp with him. Usopp was the only person in the base that understood what the hell Franky was talking about when it came to machinery and was also one of the only that looked normal enough that could go into the nearby city of Jaya to get supplies. When the boy wore long-sleeves and a pair of gloves his arms looked entirely normal, so walking down a city street was fairly easy for him to do.

With the main heavy-lifter gone besides Zoro, Sanji was now stuck in the large storage room with the green-haired asshole organizing a large number of crates with various foods that Franky and Usopp had gotten yesterday. Being stuck in a crowded storage room with the moss-headed bastard was definitely not on Sanji's to-do list, but Nami had asked personally for his help so he could hardly turn her down.

They had worked in silence for the past half-hour, shuttling crates into the room and then beginning to sort them into their proper places. Neither said a word, though there was the occasional _accidental_ bump to the shoulder or a wing to the back of a head. The quiet got to Sanji first and he broke.

"Why won't you trust me?" Sanji finally blurted.

Zoro pushed a huge crated up on the top shelf and turned to Sanji, "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah." Sanji admitted as he picked up another box, "But your answer wasn't satisfactory."

Zoro snorted derisively, "Well, it won't change."

"You said you have trust issues; who betrayed you?"

"No one betrayed shit."

"Mmhm." Sanji hummed in disbelief, "Whatever you say, moss-head."

"Moss-head?" Zoro picked up a crate and turned to Sanji, "The fuck?"

"Oh." Sanji put an apologetic hand to his mouth, "Did no one tell you? Your hair is green." Sanji laughed, "Then again it wouldn't surprise me; you don't look like someone who would look in a mirror."

Zoro growled and slammed down the crate on a bottom shelf, if the surface hadn't been stone Zoro probably would've broken it, "I'm not an idiot, I know my hair is green."

"Oh, good." Sanji sighed in fake relief, "I would've felt like an ass if I had to break it to you."

"You're already an ass." Zoro informed.

"You wanna go?!" Sanji snarled.

"No." Zoro turned and picked up another box, "I don't need Chopper angry at me for hurting you when you've finally finished healing."

"Oh ho?" Sanji laughed in surprise, "So sure of yourself, are you?"

Zoro just rolled his eyes and continued to work, not bothering to reply. Sanji watched him for a moment before going back to his own task. If he were to take Zoro in a fight he definitely couldn't full on kick the man; he'd probably break his leg if he did. But just because he was strong didn't mean that he was unbeatable – Sanji was itching to just knock the man down a couple levels.

"Back to the whole trust thing..." Sanji broke the silence once more, "How about this; you trust me, and if it turns out that I am a spy you can personally kill me. Sound good?"

Zoro turned a level stare to Sanji, "It's not just that I don't trust you. And honestly, I can kill you whenever I feel like it."

"So what is it?" Sanji ignored the death threat.

"You piss me off." Zoro dead-panned.

"Oh?" Sanji raised and eyebrow and took a step forward, and grinned cheekily, "Why exactly?"

"I don't know." Zoro shrugged and picked up another crate and set it up on the shelf. "I just want to punch your face in."

Sanji watched Zoro's back for only a moment before glancing around the room. With the floor mostly cleared off they had more than enough room to have a small brawl, and what a more perfect opportunity than now to show the man that he wasn't number one.

Zoro turned to go fetch another crate and Sanji launched forward; the green-haired idiot seemed confused for a moment. Sanji took this to his advantage and feigned a kick to Zoro's head. Zoro seemed to clue in an he raised an arm with a smirk. Sanji returned it with one of his own; he wasn't stupid. Kicking Zoro full on would be like kicking a brick wall; with his strength Sanji couldn't fight offensively. He had to fight defensively, and smart.

Sanji quickly dropped to a crouch and hooked his leg behind Zoro's, dropping the man in a quick sweeping motion. Zoro landed on his ass and sat for a moment watching Sanji with wide eyes and a shocked expression. Sanji smirked and straightened his stance feeling entirely too satisfied with just the simple action.

"You can fight?" Zoro asked, he seemed to be trying to hide his shock but was failing royally.

"What? Never been knocked over before shithead?" Sanji mocked, "Bring it. I'll roundhouse your ass."

Zoro stared up shocked for a moment before baring his teeth in an unnaturally menacing way, "You asked for it."

Zoro hardly got up on one knee before pouncing at Sanji; arm already raised. Sanji barely moved his head to the side in time, the fist passed so close he felt the wind on his face. The fist landed in the rock wall behind the blond and he glanced back to see Zoro's hand embedded in the stone.

Got to be fucking kidding me...

Zoro's other hand came up in a haymaker and Sanji realized he was cornered by Zoro's other arm, ducking almost too late when he felt the fist connect with the crown of his wing. He rolled away and landed in a crouch. Sanji had completely forgotten about his wings, he'd now have to change his entire fighting strategy to make sure not to get them in any danger. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Zoro had some very good form, Sanji would give him that. His footwork was impressive as was his balance, but if it was one thing Sanji prided himself on it was his speed. Though his wings did slow him down a little, the added muscle he had gained from carrying around the extra weight had evened everything out.

"What's wrong, dumbass?" Sanji mocked as he once more side-stepped another punch, "Having trouble?"

"I will beat the shit out of you." Zoro growled as he lunged at Sanji, a feigned kick and a wing caught on the edge of a shelf had Zoro's hand gripped tightly around his throat. The green-haired man pinned him to the wall by his neck, hold tight but not painful. One hand gripped Zoro's tightly as the other grasped the man's wrist. He struggled but it was useless, there was no way to break such a strong grip.

"You're too weak to win this." Zoro mocked, "Get it?"

"The only thing I get is that all those steroids they pumped you full of shrunk your intelligence and your dick, you overcompensating ass!" Sanji's leg lashed out, foot implanting on the moron's face.

It didn't seem to faze the man, though he did growl in annoyance and regretfully seem to let Sanji go. Sanji dropped to his feet and his hand immediately came to his neck as he gasped in fresh air. He could still feel the press of Zoro's fingers on his neck and knew it was probably already bruising.

"Choking?" Sanji managed, his voice scratchy, "Coward."

Zoro roared and slammed his fist into the wall right beside Sanji's head. Sanji's eyes flicked up to stare at Zoro's hand that was fisted in the wall, the rock squished from his hand as though it were mud. He turned back and met Zoro with a heated glare; he wasn't going to let this bastard intimidate him.

"Like I said," Sanji mocked, "Compensating."

Zoro slammed his other hand into the wall in the same fashion as the first; caging Sanji against the wall. The man leaned in, his breathing heavy from most likely withheld anger. Sanji revelled in it; why it felt good to rile this man up was beyond him, but it made him feel oddly superior than the super-human.

"You have _no_ idea how much I want to smash your skull in." Zoro stated darkly.

"Oh, I have some idea." Sanji sneered.

Zoro's only reply was a gust of air from between his clenched teeth.

It became an all out brawl. Zoro was aiming to punch Sanji somewhere vital, and Sanji was watching for any opportunity to knock the man off balance. A few punches clipped his wings – which stung unpleasantly – some coming to land on a box or the wall, breaking either in his path. Mostly Sanji was able to dance out of the green-haired idiot's way, and get in a couple kicks. A couple of Sanji's kicks were also at fault for some broken wood and jars, but all of it was ignored.

Sanji managed to completely disorient Zoro by hitting him full on with his wing, he twisted expertly and hooked a leg around the man's throat and brought his other one up to sharply knee the man in the back. Surprisingly the move brought him down and they remained sprawled on the floor; Sanji's legs keeping Zoro's throat in a tight leg lock.

Sanji was panting heavily by this point, but Zoro was just as much out of breath.

"Ha." Sanji laughed triumphantly, "Not so tough now-"

Zoro broke the lock and threw himself at Sanji. He was able to dodge the punch, but not the full tackle and he was bodily thrown into a crate behind him. Zoro's fist connected with it and there was a large crack as the wood splintered and a poof as the contents exploded over them both. A cloud of white engulfed them and they were both left to sit there coughing up the debris.

When Sanji was finally able to see fairly well, he realized that the box they had destroyed had contained flour. The grounded grain was splatter everywhere, they were both covered from head to toe in it, and the air was still thick with the falling dust. Zoro coughed mutely, and flurry of flour puffed out of his mouth which caused him to choke even more. Sanji had to bite down a chuckle.

Dumb bastard.

There were footfalls and the door to the storage room opened and all the men had time to do was glance at the entryway before an orange head poked in.

"I heard shouting; what on earth is – WHAT THE FUCK?"

Nami glanced around at the several broken crates and spilled goods, as well as the two men sitting on the floor covered in flour.

"My dearest Nami." Sanji smiled humbly before making to stand, "I can explain."

"No." Nami mumbled in defeat and dropped her head into a single hand, "I'm used to this ridiculousness."

They sat with guilty expressions as Nami cast a glance around the room inspecting the damage before looking back at them with an exhale, "I didn't think you two were so bad with the other."

Zoro and Sanji shared a glance at the other, both looking just as annoyed and pissed off.

"Clean this up." Nami ordered sharply and turned to leave but pointed a sharp finger in their direction, "Make another mess and I'll forget my pole."

Both men nodded silently, Zoro seemed a bit more wide-eyed and Sanji assumed the man had been victim to the woman's wrath more than once. Sanji desperately hoped that was the case. She left, the door slamming with finality and a muttered word of, "Boys..."

Once more neither said a word as they set to work putting away the last of the crates and sweeping up all spilled, smashing, squished or bruised goods.

But Sanji couldn't stop the small smile that stayed plastered on his face for the rest of the time they cleaned up. For some reason that fight had gotten a huge weight off his chest and he felt a lot less annoyed by the brawny shithead. Though he still wasn't going to forgive him, yet.

~X~

Sanji and Zoro exited the storage room and re-entered the rec-room, Zoro promptly flopped down on a couch and Sanji made his way to the kitchen to wash his hands of the flour, pear juice, and olive oil that had stained his hands from the earlier fight.

Sanji reemerged in the rec-room and glanced at Zoro who was lounging on the couch, eyes closed and not even seeming to have noticed Sanji's presence. Sanji was fine with that, and sat down at the large table with a book he had started a few days ago; Treasure Island. He managed to get a few pages in to the fifth chapter before his attention was diverted by a door opening and Nami popping her head into the room.

"Zoro." Nami called, "A word?"

Zoro looked as though the last thing he wanted was to go talk to Nami, but from the look that the red-head sent him it was clear that it wasn't an option. A reluctant sigh and a groan had Zoro on his feet and he followed the lovely woman into a doorway that led of into a labyrinth of tunnels.

Sanji cast a quick glance around before running over to the door and pressing his ear against it; overjoyed when the wood turned out not to be sound-proof. Their voices travelled perfectly through the wood and he could hear every word and scuffle of a shoe.

"-do you want?" Zoro's gruff voice floated through the door.

"What do you think?" Nami muttered, and if it wasn't for the annoyance in her voice Sanji would've been concerned that maybe he had read her wrong when he had thought she liked Luffy. "I want to know why the storage room was completely destroyed."

"It was not _destroyed_." Zoro corrected in annoyance.

"Yeah, see," Nami muttered, "I have this sinking suspicion that your brawl wasn't simply a little practice session."

"Have all the suspicions you want. I'm not talking to you about this."

"Right, I forgot." Nami snorted and imitated a baby's voice, "Mr. Emotionless over here doesn't like talking about his feelings."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks." Nami made a disgusted sound, "Pretty sure you'd die before you could get my pants off anyway."

"I wouldn't touch you with a sword." Zoro gritted.

"Thank you." Nami simpered, "But we really aren't here to talk about that. I want to know why you're treating Sanji like shit."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

There was a long pregnant pause and Sanji wondered what possible expressions they had on their faces. From the tension emanating from behind the door Sanji assumed a glaring match must've been taking place.

"I know what you're doing." Nami finally uttered.

"What am I doing?" Zoro sounded unimpressed by Nami's seeming introspection.

"You did this before. You still do it to Robin. You don't trust people and frankly I'm not surprised that Sanji got annoyed and tried to hit you. I want to hit you-"

"It's not that I don't trust him." Zoro cut her off.

That had Sanji's eyebrows jumping up and he was a little worried that they might get lost in his hairline.

"Oh?" Nami seemed as shocked as Sanji, "Cause Chopper said you got him pretty riled up a few days ago; and I assume it was your usual trusting self that set him off."

Sanji blushed, he hadn't expected Chopper to tell anybody that. Then again it wasn't something that pertained to his health so he assumed Chopper was at liberty to share that information with anyone he wanted. But the last person he wanted to find out was Zoro.

"Why do you stick your nose into everything that's not your business?"

"Cause he's my friend. And maybe he'd be yours if you'd stop being an ass."

"He pisses me off."

"Can you just try to get along with him?" Nami pleaded, and Sanji felt more than a little annoyed that Zoro had the woman _begging_ him, "What harm could it do?"

"A lot."

Nami made a sound of annoyance, "Have you ever considered that the reason he's annoying you is cause you started it?"

"Have you ever considered that I don't care?" Zoro countered.

"Just try and get to know him. You may find a friend."

"I'll _try_." Zoro stressed, "But I'm not making any promises."

"You'd be surprised how alike you two are." Nami added and Sanji could hear the smile in her words.

"That's not selling it." Zoro grumbled and his footsteps could be heard receding, heading away from Nami and the conversation.

Sanji faintly heard Nami sigh before her footsteps also began retreating and soon there was not a sound emitting from the door. Sanji didn't move, just remained with his ear pressed to the door for a long moment as he tried to understand the conversation he had just heard.

So Zoro did trust him? That was good, right? But it seemed that his behaviour toward Sanji was because of another reason, not because he was untrustworthy. Maybe Sanji would just have to work out what that was?

"Who're we spying on?"

Sanji turned to see the glowing skeletal face of Brooke hovering over his shoulder and screamed. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Brooke turned and looked behind him, "What are we screaming at?"

Sanji brought his fist down on the man's head, "You! You fucker!"

Brooke rubbed the top of his head and grinned, "Oh. Well you needn't have hit me."

"Yeah. I did. You scared the shit out of me."

Brooke fell back to he was sitting and laughed, "If you were a skeleton you wouldn't have to worry about shitting yourself."

"You're not a skeleton!"

~X~

Zoro stalked away from Nami and felt a surge of relief when he didn't hear the clack of her heels following him. The last thing he needed was for her to decide to try her electroshock therapy out on him. It didn't kill him like it would a weaker man, but it did leave his hair on end, slightly singed and his muscles tense for a few days.

And damn it!

Nami could be such a nosey bitch sometimes. It was bad enough that she had tried to pry out of him the reason _why_ he didn't trust people – to no avail mind you – but it was even worse that she was trying to force him to act a certain way when he really didn't want to.

Did he trust Robin?

Yes.

Did he trust Sanji?

Maybe.

...Yes.

Yes, he did trust that insufferable, winged idiot. Regardless of what he had said, the man had indeed proven himself. He had survived inside Impel for longer than Zoro had, he had escaped all on his own – something Zoro hadn't even really technically done – and had managed to be lucky enough to almost fall on Zoro's head.

Sanji did owe Zoro a little for bringing him to the base, but really? Sanji had done everything else.

And Zoro had honestly planned on being respectful to the man, but as soon as the blond had woken up and opened that damned mouth it was all for not. With an insufferable attitude, cocky nature and a foul-mouth to boot Zoro couldn't find it in him to be nice to him. It was almost upon reflex that Zoro immediately set about ignoring him.

What was worse was that Sanji seemed insulted that Zoro hadn't welcomed him with open arms like everybody else; and seemed determined to find out why. That was what bugged Zoro more than anything. He was glad that Sanji had finally lost it this morning and attacked him; Zoro had his own frustrations to take out on the dumb blond bastard.

Their fight had definitely blown off a lot of steam and he did find himself a little less pissed off at the blond. Though he had found himself severely impressed; the blond was quick. And judging from his skill set he had some sort of back ground in martial arts. When Sanji had gotten the drop on him and managed to knock him over he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do other than sit there and look surprised.

Regardless, the fight was needed and even though Nami's nagging on him was annoying he was now less angry at the mouthy blond. Maybe even calm enough to tolerate having a conversation with him. _Maybe_ even calm enough to take Nami's advice and try and be nice to him. Maybe.

His feet had carried him back to the dorm hallway, he was about to enter his room when he looked at a blank spot on the wall a few doors down. Franky had been nagging at him to get that room started and he figured what better time than now? He needed to work off some energy anyway.

Zoro began scooping large chunks of rock away from the wall as he set about making a doorway. The rock crumbled away and was as easy to mold as wet sand. Sometimes Zoro was even impressed with himself when he was molding rock or metal and still couldn't quite believe that six years ago he had been a scrawny little punk.

Scrounging up a bunch of debris on the ground he molded the rock into some semblance of a ball and tossed it aside. He kept up hollowing out the door and keeping the extra rock organized by making it into manageable boulders. When the door was done he wiped a hand across his brow to clear some of the sweat.

The work wasn't too difficult, but it definitely built up a sweat. He glanced at his watch noting it was a good bit passed dinner and tried not feel a bit disappointed that he missed a hot meal. Not that he'd bloat the blond's ego any more by telling him his food was actually the best meal he'd had in years. Nami had cooked for a while, but charged them for her time so everyone decided that feeding themselves was easiest.

He made his way to the kitchen to quickly wash his hands of the dirt now caking them before opening the fridge to look for leftovers; he was disappointed to find none. Grabbing a water bottle he opened it and quickly downed half the contents, releasing the top with a content sigh. He glanced around the kitchen and noticed nothing had been touched – there weren't even dishes drying in the rack – had Sanji not made dinner? He made his way back out into the rec-room and stumbled into Chopper.

"Hey, Chopper. Where's birdbrain?"

Chopper looked confused for a moment, "You mean Sanji?"

"Right." Zoro nodded, "There's no dinner."

"Yeah." Chopper smiled, "He went out flying and hasn't come back. I checked on him regularly but he just doesn't want to come down."

"That so." Zoro muttered quietly as he stared off toward the tunnel that eventually led out of the mountain. He had actually been wondering exactly how Sanji had flown. Maybe he could just take a look...

"You're not mad, are you?" Chopper mumbled quietly.

Zoro looked down at the small deer scrapping his hoof guiltily on the floor and immediately felt bad. He dropped to a knee and scooped the deer up in a small hug that had the boy blushing and cursing.

"No, Chopper." Zoro grinned, "I'm not mad."

"So you don't hate Sanji anymore?" Chopper looked up hopefully.

Zoro couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him. Why did everyone think he hated Sanji? Was anyone asking Sanji why he hated Zoro? No. Zoro was always labelled the fucking problem. Okay, maybe it was a little bit his fault, but it wasn't like Sanji was fucking innocent.

"I never hated him." Zoro admitted as he released the boy and stood, he headed to his room to grab a jacket, "But I don't like him either."

~X~

Sanji crouched low, fingertips brushing the ground lightly, his wings twitching happily behind him in anticipation as he looked out at the glorious expanse before him. At the very precipice of the cliff, almost as though he were hovering while looking out at the valley far below.

Trees of every shade of green were swept up in the wind and caused the valley floor to look like the waves on the ocean, cresting and falling. A few deciduous countered the green with bright reds, oranges and yellows of autumn; some leaves let loose to be carried off on the breeze.

The mountains on the far side seemed to continue on forever, peak after peak, disappearing off into the horizon. Snow capped and sparkling in the afternoon sun. Some of them – off to the far left – were swallowed by the low lying clouds, that hugged the earth like a comforting blanket.

Chopper had finally given him permission to test his wings. The doctor had looked over every inch of his wings and seemed to grudgingly admit that Sanji was in perfect health. Sanji felt bad that the little deer was now out of work, but he had been looking forward to this moment for days.

Sanji took a deep breath and jumped.

Easily launching far into the sky, he let the force of his jump carry him, before allowing his wings to completely unfold for the first time in days. Feathers stretching out as far as possible – the wind ruffling them happily – his wings caught an up draft and he just let the current pull him along, eyes closing as he welcomed the feeling of freedom.

There was no other word he could use to describe it; it was liberation. Not only was this the way he had gotten free of Impel, but it was the ability to never be caught every again. As long as the winds would carry his body then he would never again put himself in harms way again.

Sanji flew for hours. Stopping and resting on a branch of a high tree every so often – glancing around and taking in the sights – before launching back into the air. The longer he was up, the more he learned and the more confidence he gained. Every so often giving in and trying something potentially hazardous.

A few times he would mess up; his wings catching a gust of wind at an odd angle, or an attempted trick would cause him to spiral out of control, but he always recovered in the end. He'd laugh nervously and have to calm the insane thumping of his adrenaline pumped heart.

When the sun was beginning to kiss the horizon Sanji regrettably admitted that it was time to return to the ground. He made his way to the base entrance; taking his time and weaving through a few air currents on the way. As he neared the precipice a green head came into view and Sanji frowned.

Zoro?

As Sanji neared his suspicions were confirmed as the man came into view. A long green trench-coat was wrapped around himself, though it was haphazardly done up and his trademark white shirt was visible underneath. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he didn't seem aggressive in any way.

What was he playing at?

Sanji landed a little unsteadily – a bit too top heavy – stumbled but managed to catch himself. He straightened himself and made his way over to his shoes, slipping them on before finally turning his attention to the man. The last person on the fucking planet he wanted to see was that shitty asshole. He'd rather come face-to-face with a Blugory; at least then he would have something to take his anger out on.

Spy my ass.

Sanji scowled, "What?"

"You done?" Zoro asked calmly.

Sanji felt the beast of anger rear its ugly head. He turned to look at the man, snarky look plastered across his already annoyed features, "What?! Can't I take my time? Or let me guess," Sanji placed a mocking finger to his lips in thought, "I might be run off to tell Impel about your little hide out?"

Zoro didn't say anything, he almost seemed akin to child who had gotten caught doing something bad, he pulled one hand out of a pocket and proffered a water bottle, looking anywhere but at Sanji. Sanji watched the bottle for a moment before realizing that this must've been the effect of Nami's talk.

"So this is your idea of a peace offering?" Sanji snorted, taking the water nonetheless.

"Look, dick." Zoro snapped, "I'm trying to apologize here."

"And you're doing a shit job of it." Sanji smirked as he opened the lid and took a large gulp. The water was cool and refreshing and spread throughout his heated body, cooling every vein. It tasted rich with minerals and Sanji assumed it must have been from the mountain's creek.

"This is why I don't like you," Zoro growled, "You're such a fucking prick about everything."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be a dick if you'd just trust me." Sanji countered quickly.

"Trust is earned." Zoro bit back.

"Well, I thought I'd have earned it after breaking out of Impel."

"I respect that you were smart enough to get out." Zoro commented, "Why can't you respect that fact that I don't quite trust you yet?"

"Quite?"

"Of course that'd be the only thing you'd take away from what I'd say." Zoro placed a hand on his forehead, "You're so annoying."

"Are you going to be any less of a dick when Rayliegh clears me?" Sanji enquired curiously.

"Maybe." Zoro monotoned, "Though I have a feeling you're not gonna change."

"Don't count on it." Sanji replied smugly.

Zoro didn't reply for a moment before he pulled something else from his pocket and shoved it into Sanji's hands. Sanji set down his water bottle and unfolded the fabric finding a shirt. Sanji was about to point out that he couldn't wear it when Zoro cut him off.

"Chopper made it for you." Zoro muttered, "He said something about feeling bad that you're probably cold."

Sanji turned it and found that it had a large hole in the back for his wings joints, and there was a zipper that did up the bottom of the back and a button on the neck. He shucked on the shirt, doing up the button at around his neck and then zipping it up. The shirt hung normally and Sanji really couldn't tell it apart from a normal T.

"Feel uncomfortable by my naked form?" Sanji smirked, "Is that the real reason you gave me this shirt?"

Zoro glowered, "Do you ever not have a snappy comeback?"

"Nope." Sanji beamed, "Like you said; I'm a prick."

Zoro rolled his eyes and huffed before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Of course..."

Sanji took one last glance at the valley – ingraining the sight into his memory to keep him company for his dreams that night. While he stared out at the land he frowned as he began to realize something that had bothered him since he had first set foot outside.

"By the way." Sanji asked cautiously, picking up the water bottle, "Where is Impel? I've never seen it when I've been out."

"It's on the other side of the mountain." Zoro admitted, "We don't usually go over there; don't want to get spotted."

"Can we go see?"

"Why would you want to?" Zoro asked shrewdly.

"I don't know." Sanji shrugged, "Closure?"

"Fine." Zoro muttered, "But if you try to make a run for it I'll break your wings off."

"You can try." Sanji countered.

Instead of heading inside like Sanji had expected, Zoro began to hike up the mountain. The summit wasn't too far off, and the slope was gradual. Out of the tree line all that decorated the rock was sparse soil and small bushes and shrubs. Lichen and moss covered almost everything else.

Sanji choose to walk. Flying would've been faster but he doubted Zoro's dignity would've been able to survive the fly to the top if Sanji carried him. Not that he was complaining, a walk to stretch his legs was greatly appreciated.

They finally crested the mountain and were at the summit and Sanji could see far into the distance over the other side. A valley similar to the one they had just walked up from was laid out before the two; although it was a bit smaller, and the opposing mountains were a bit closer.

There was a small building – grey and completely devoid of windows – in the far off distance almost hidden completely by the surrounding trees. It was one floor high and was surrounded by the familiar walls that Sanji had flown over weeks ago. There were several layers of fencing outside the large brick walls, and a dirt road that led away from the building.

A cold shiver ran down Sanji's spine as he stared at the small structure.

"_That's_ Impel?!" Sanji blurted.

"Mm." Zoro nodded, "Everything else is underground."

"That-" Sanji put a hand to his forehead, "Wha-"

"Don't hurt yourself." Zoro muttered behind the lapel of his jacket that had flipped due to the wind and hidden half of his face.

"There was like 200 floors! How is that even possible?!" Sanji screeched and gestured at Impel, "That makes no sense!"

Zoro watched Sanji steadily, almost as though he was assessing whether or not to respond to Sanji. Zoro turned back to look at Impel and said on a sigh, "I really should've just let Rayliegh explain everything."

"Oh come on!" Sanji let his head fall back in exasperation, "I'm gonna have an aneurism if you mention him one more time."

Zoro looked out at the valley and seemed lost for a moment in his own thoughts – probably reliving memories of the place. Sanji watched him quietly for a moment and had to admit the man didn't look nearly as mad and annoyed when he didn't have his eyebrows drawn together. He had a hard jaw which made him look a little intimidating, a slender nose that looked like it may have been broken once – or twice – and sharp violet eyes that were no doubt a side effect of some sort of experiment within Impel.

"They don't want to be discovered." Zoro began carefully, "A large building like that would draw too much attention. So it's all entirely underground. As for why there's so many floors; why do you think?"

"Is there really that many people being kept in there?"

"More than you're probably imagining." Zoro muttered.

Sanji didn't respond as the words sunk in. From what he had seen Impel had an unusually large surplus of people; which was not only horrifying but led to the question of how they managed to capture so many people without it becoming a national crisis.

Zoro sighed and turned away from the valley, "Why you wanted to come here is beyond me."

Sanji watched the grey building not sure if the cold he felt was winter's chill finally rushing autumn away or if it was something else. The shirt was an appreciated layer, and along with his wings he was sure he should be more than warm but he couldn't shake the odd shiver that coursed through him.

"So you done now?" Zoro snarked, "Enough closure for you?"

"I still feel something's missing." Sanji admitted quietly.

Sanji hadn't been able to explain it but it had haunted him from the first day he had escaped. A feeling deep in his gut that said that something still wasn't right; that something was missing. He'd exhausted every idea and still couldn't understand it. It was like a hunger that no food could fill, a thirst that no water pacified. But he couldn't figure out what it was that would get rid of the pain.

Zoro watched Sanji for a long moment before extending his hand, "Give me your hand."

"Why?!" Sanji scowled and purposefully hid his hands behind his back, "You gonna break my wrist or something?"

Zoro rolled his eyes, "This is me _trying_ to be nice. Just give me your hand."

Sanji paused and watched Zoro carefully, noting how Zoro had stressed the word 'try'. Was he actually following Nami's advice? Was he honestly trying to be nice? Nothing in his attitude seemed forced or aggressive, so Sanji assumed he might as well give it a shot.

Sanji slowly reached out and put his hand within Zoro's reach. The green-haired haired man scooped it up, and his fingers wrapped around Sanji's. His hand was warm and took away the chill of the late afternoon, and his skin was rough – covered in calluses – which was oddly comforting.

"What is the purpose of this?" Sanji asked snarkily.

"Do you have to ruin everything by talking?" Zoro looked at him in annoyance.

"Only when a shithead is holding my hand for no reason."

Zoro sighed in exasperation, "How do you feel now?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Compared to earlier when you said you felt something was missing." Zoro scowled and looked out at the valley, "How do you feel now?"

Sanji's eyes went out of focused as he turned his thoughts inward. He definitely was still cold, but the warmth from Zoro's hand was helping a little. But when he tried to find that lonely feeling from before it was gone – or at least almost gone – his chest feeling light for some reason.

"...better." Sanji mumbled, "But I don't get-"

"Human contact." Zoro interrupted, "When was the last time you held someone's hand? Received a hug? Your subconscious is craving security in the form of another human."

"Since when were you so smart?"

"Maslow's Hierarchy. Children know that shit." Zoro snorted, but his tone immediately softened, "But I had the same problem."

They stood in silence. Sanji revelled in the feeling the warm hold on his hand and vaguely remembered the small warmth of Apis' shoulder against him through the cold bars of his cell. His hand tightened ever-so-slightly on Zoro's as he tried to ignore the wave of sadness that was trying to overcome the warmth that had come from Zoro's hand.

"I still don't like you." Sanji grumbled, though he couldn't stop the tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. He tilted his head to hide it behind his hair.

"Feeling's mutual." Zoro muttered.

But Zoro's hand didn't let go, nor did it tighten in punishment. It just remained comfortably around Sanji's giving him the reassurance that he had needed.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I was heavily debating whether or not to have a Zoro POV, but felt the relationship would have more depth if you knew what was gong on in both idiots' heads. Enjoy the light nakamaship; now things get interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

"More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace

mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost,

if you can conceive of such a combination."

- Wilbur Wright

* * *

Sanji screamed as he flailed, throwing the constricting leather straps from his body in panic. He twisted around in the dark looking for his captor and it took a moment for him to realize he was in a room. Chopper's medical room. The room safe in the mountains far from the reaches of the scientists.

Sanji let out a shaky breath and drew his knees up to his chest and let his wings enfold him completely.

The dream had felt so real. Even now that he was awake he had a hard time convincing himself that it wasn't real – that he wasn't in a safe place. What if he was under some medication and hallucinating? His grip on his pants tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut. No. No he was safe. That much he could reassure himself with. Maybe no longer mentally sound, but safe.

Standing, he picked up the blankets he had thrown aside in his terror and placed them back on the bed. He couldn't possibly get back to sleep now; not only was he now wide awake but he didn't want to deal with the risk of more nightmares. It seemed like a good opportunity to take a walk and try to cool down. He exited Chopper's doctor office and came out in the rec-room.

Sanji had begun to get a basic understanding of the tunnel systems. The bedrooms were all located down the hallway near the fireplace, the kitchen was just off the door beside the large table and there were others that led to Franky's workshop, the bathing room, and the library. But there were several more doors he hadn't explored.

He picked a random door and set off down the candlelight hallway. After so long of living within Impel with barely a piece of clothe covering his waist to keep him warm, he had found the temperature of the outside world almost stifling.

Barefoot and shirtless felt all too natural now, and after waking in a cold sweat the cool air was welcome on his overheated flesh. The rock was cool and calming beneath his feet and they began to carry him and he didn't protest – even if he got lost in the maze of tunnels, it would be okay – getting lost was preferable to sleeping at this point. Thanks to his nightmare. The thought of sleep began to terrify him and he wondered how he could overcome his mind and maybe stop anymore dreams like that from surfacing.

Sanji reached the end of a long tunnel, and instead of a door to another part of the mountain there was an archway. When he stepped through into the torch lit room he froze in awe of what he found. A large cavern that had to be at least a hundred feet in height was opened before him.

Stalactites hung from the ceiling in thousands, like icicles on a cold winter morning. Water gently sluicing down them, sending the occasional drop of water to the floor below. Some hitting the lake that took up more than half the expanse of the floor. The water looked as though it were on fire as it reflected the light of nearby candles, and the still surface was broken only by the gentle ripples created by something just out of sight in the dark.

As Sanji neared the edge he noticed the ripples in the water did not diminish and if anything were drawing nearer. The object came into view and it took Sanji a moment to realize it was a person. He took a cautionary step away not wanting to disturb anyone before a familiar green head came into view.

Zoro floated on his back in the water, staring absently at the rock above him as he casually kicked his legs to bring himself closer to the bank. Sanji could tell the exact moment Zoro detected his presence; the man stiffened ever-so-slightly and then proceeded to submerge himself underwater.

Sanji felt bad for disturbing Zoro and turned on his heel, making his way back to the entrance. He made it about halfway when he heard Zoro resurface and the man call out.

"Hey."

Sanji froze mid-step before slowly turning to look back at the man who now floated my the lake's edge, arms resting on the rock.

"Hey." Sanji repeated.

They hadn't talked in a full two days. Since he and Zoro had made a silent truce up on the mountain both had been respectful and polite to the other, but neither had really said anything. Sanji honestly didn't know what _to_ say to the man. Zoro had surprised him with his behaviour .

Not only was the man somewhat intelligent, but he was also deceptively kind. He didn't look like it – with that constant frown and harsh voice – but he was actually a very sympathetic and caring person. It had shocked Sanji, and had him feeling especially guilty for immediately thinking the man was an asshole.

Now that he had seen this other half – the one that everyone else no doubt saw – he was intrigued and wanted to approach the man. But with neither making the first move to talk, he really hadn't had the opportunity. Sanji _wanted_ to make the first move, but part of him was still embarrassed about having to have the man hold his hand because of his weakness.

"Listen, um... thank you for earlier. And well," Sanji found himself stumbling and frowned at himself, "I can be patient until Rayliegh comes; if that'll make everything better?"

Zoro watched Sanji silently for a moment, his eyes were calculating like always, and Sanji desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. But despite whatever Zoro might have going on in his head it hardly mattered; they always ended up at each others throats regardless. Zoro was probably thinking of the best way to tick San-

"No. It's fine."

Sanji froze, "...what?"

"You were kinda right." Zoro shrugged, "I do rely a little too heavily on Rayliegh's judgement."

Sanji's mouth hung open slightly but he was completely at a loss for what to say. He had been preparing to have another argument with the bastard but instead the conversation was taking a completely different turn. One that he was not expecting in the least.

"Rayliegh does make the final decision, but everyone else seems to already trust you. And..." Zoro trailed off and looked away, not making any motion to continue.

Sanji was completely dumbfounded, but he managed to stifle his confusion long enough to walked over to the water's edge and sit cross-legged in front of the man, "And...?"

Zoro sighed and continued to look off to the side, "And," He muttered quietly, "To be honest I trust you."

Sanji's eyebrows raised in surprise, "What?"

"I'm not repeating it."

Sanji chuckled, it looked like Zoro had been telling the truth to Nami, not that he'd ever tell either that he'd been eavesdropping, "Well thank you. What changed your mind?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Fine." Sanji snorted humorously, "Keep your secrets."

"Don't take it the wrong way. I may trust you, but you're still really annoying."

A sly grin worked its way onto Sanji's face, "And I'm only going to get more so."

Zoro scoffed, "Big surprise."

Sanji sat happily by the waters edge while Zoro casually floated before him. Their silence was broken by the inconsistent drips of water falling from the ceiling. Sanji cleared his throat lightly and the cough echoed throughout the cavern. Zoro's lips pursed and he looked like he was searching for something to say.

"So..." Zoro ventured, "What are you doing up?"

Sanji grinned maliciously before quoting the man, "I'm not telling you."

Zoro's eyes narrowed, "Idiot."

Sanji shrugged before the smile fell from his face as he remembered the actual reason as to why he had been up in the first place. Being stuck back in that cold, metallic room with his sinuses riddled by antiseptics and his body pierced by dozens of needles. He shivered and forced his eyes open so as not to see the images in his mind.

Zoro nodded solemnly, "Nightmares?"

Sanji looked to the side with a pout. Was he really that easy to read? Fuck, he didn't want to look weak. Not that it mattered; he had already held the man's hand. He casually closed his hand into a fist as he remembered the warm, rough skin under his and the reassuring grip that had held him.

"They're nothing to be ashamed of, you know?"

"I'm not ashamed of shit." Sanji scowled at the presumptuous green-haired man.

Zoro snorted, "Bull. You wouldn't be wandering around at night if you were able to sleep."

Sanji growled low in his throat, "Oh, yeah. Why are you awake then?"

"Everyone here is haunted by Impel." Zoro shrugged casually, "In one way or another."

"You have nightmares?"

Zoro was silent for a while before finally muttering, "Yea."

Now that had Sanji surprised. Mister Macho Man actually had a case of insomnia due to dreams. Zoro would be the last person he would guess to be kept awake at night by something like that.

"Is this just what you do then," Sanji vaguely gestured to the lake, "Just swim all night?"

"Sometimes." Zoro smiled, "Mostly I'll just stay in my room and stare at the ceiling."

Sanji couldn't tell if Zoro was making a joke or if he was being serious but he returned the smile, "If you're up all night; then when do you sleep?"

"I take naps throughout the day. About an hour at a time so I don't really let myself have the chance to start dreaming."

"That's not really a good way to live." Sanji pointed out.

"Yea..." Zoro admitted before he hoisted himself from the water, snatching up a nearby towel and wrapping it around his nude waist, "But the way I see it; I'm wasting precious hours of my life sleeping anyway."

Sanji was left to ponder Zoro's words for only a moment before his jaw opened in shock at the scar adorning the man's chest; from shoulder to hip bone it sliced his body clean in half. The scar seemed old and completely healed, but it was still somewhat indented from when it had been stitched together.

Zoro raised a brow before looking down, "Ah."

"How'd you get it?"

Right hand coming up to lightly cover the scar he frowned at the memory of the wound before replying cryptically, "Where everyone gets their wounds."

And that was as far as the conversation needed to go. It was obvious it was from Impel, not to mention that Zoro clearly was not up for telling the tale at the moment. Robin had been the same and he wouldn't blame either of them; they were most likely experiences that they already regretted living once. Reliving in story in words or memory was probably more than painful.

Zoro stumbled into a pair of pants, doing up the button before struggling into a shirt, his wet skin making it more difficult than it should be. Finally in some semblance of dress he quickly dried his hair before turning to Sanji.

"If you're not planning to sleep either, you can come hang in my room. If you want company that is."

Sanji paused for a moment before standing, "Do you mind?"

"I just invited you, didn't I?" Zoro gave him a shrewd look, "Did your brain become a duck's too?"

"Excuse me?!" Sanji asked affronted.

Zoro snorted and started to make his way to the exit.

"You're one to talk!" Sanji shouted as he jumped to his feet and ran to catch up with Zoro, "You have a plant growing on your head."

"Ooh. Burn." Zoro deadpanned as he continued out the archway and along the candlelit hallway.

Sanji made a noise of annoyance before falling into step behind the man. Okay, he'd give Zoro that one; that had been one of his less-than-sightly come-backs. But there was no way in hell he'd let the man one-up him again.

~X~

They entered Zoro's room and Zoro closed the door quietly so as not to disturb any of the sleeping neighbours while Sanji glanced around the room in awe of all the fascinating and beautiful carvings that littered the place. Most were crammed onto several stone alcoves in the wall that Zoro probably dug out on demand, and the rest were scattered on the floor. Some finished; others in the process of completion.

"You carve all of these?" Sanji asked as he walked over to one shelf that held a gigantic wooden ship.

A lion's head was carved as the figurehead, and the sails had a gigantic pirate skull and crossbones on it, but had a straw hat as well. It seemed vaguely familiar and when he looked down at the deck he knew why. There was a small figurine of Luffy with the distinct straw hat on, his fist was extended into the air and he had a large grin on his face.

As Sanji began searching the ship he found the rest of the crew, each carved with great detail and were smiling in a way that seemed so similar to the real person. He gently replaced them before turning back to the rest of the shelves and continued to inspect the art.

Zoro shrugged, "Whatever to keep my hands busy."

"You're pretty good with a knife." Sanji commented casually as he continued raking the shelves, looking at piece after piece.

Zoro shot him a grin, "Thanks." He began rummaging through a drawer before pulling out a large bottle that appeared to have some amber liquid inside of it.

"Here." Zoro proffered the large bottle to Sanji, "It helps."

"With the nightmares?" Sanji cocked his head as he took the bottle.

Zoro chuckled, "With everything."

Sanji took a tentative sip before recognizing the comforting burn of spiced rum. It melted against his tongue, burned his throat and settled into his stomach with a warm glow. Fuck, he hadn't realized how much he had missed alcohol in the past four years. And now that his mind was on the track; he couldn't the remember the last time he had had a smoke. A part of his gut whined at the memory of the wonderful tobacco but he vaguely wondered if he should just take this as an opportunity to quit...

"Hey."

"Hm?" Zoro responded as he took a seat on the bed and pulled out a small block of wood and knife that had been perched on the bedside table.

"Do you have any tobacco?" Sanji asked before taking a set near the end of the bed and resting his back on the foot board. Screw not smoking, he was going to thoroughly enjoy life now that he knew how fragile it was. He was never going to waste another day.

Zoro frowned for a moment in thought, "No. But Brooke might have some. If not just ask Franky to grab you some next time he heads to Jaya."

"Alright." Sanji nodded, his lungs already imaging the sweet smoke and hoping the wait would not be too long.

"You really gonna kill your body with that shit?"

Sanji waved a hand dismissively, "I don't buy that store bought crap. I roll my own. It's better, and don't have to inhale battery acid."

"So you're a stoner or something?"

"There's a difference between tobacco and weed." Sanji shook his head, "As a member of the grass family I thought you would know this."

"Oh, fuck off."

"No way man. It's fucking hilarious." Sanji took a swig of the rum, "Does it really grow green?"

"...yes."

Sanji smirked, "You got a little lawn on your head; how adorable."

"That joke is old, curlybrow." Zoro smirked, "Get a new one."

Sanji's hands snapped over his forehead and hurriedly tried to fix his hair to cover his eyebrows, "When did you see?!"

"When I dragged your sorry ass inside after you passed out in the mud."

Sanji's hands slowly dropped from his head and realized it was way too late to be hiding the stupid facial features, "Oh..."

"They kinda suit you though." Zoro offered with a grin.

Sanji just pouted, "Hand me that damn rum."

Zoro chuckled and handed the man the bottle. The words began to flow easily as the alcohol kicked in and they passed the bottle back and forth for a while, Zoro pausing in his work to take a large swig before handing it back. It wasn't long before Sanji's curiosity mixed with his lessened inhibitions and he began a game of twenty questions.

"Do you have a home to go back to?" Sanji asked.

Zoro shrugged, "Maybe. It's been so long."

Sanji nodded slowly, "I have an apartment; though the old man probably sold it. Fuck." Sanji dropped his head into his hands, "I don't know whether I broke his heart or that he was glad to see me leave."

"Why would he be glad you were being tortured?"

"Well no." Sanji defended quickly, "Not like that, but well, he adopted me and I still hadn't managed to pay him back for the years of mooching off of him."

"You were adopted?"

Sanji nodded, "I was an orphan."

Zoro was silent but then – whether out of actually curiosity or politeness – he asked, "What happened to your parents?"

"I don't know what their story was." Sanji raised and lowered a shoulder casually, "Too young to take care of me, didn't have the money to, or if they just didn't want me, but I was left on the doorstep of an orphanage when I was about four months old."

Zoro was quiet for a moment, his knife pausing in his work, "...I'm sorry."

"What for?" Sanji scoffed, "Not having parents?"

"I guess." Zoro muttered, "Makes me feel like a dick for taking my childhood for granted."

"Oh? Grew up in a mansion or something?"

When a guilty look appeared on the man's face and he refused to answer Sanji graced Zoro with a look of disbelief. "You're joking?"

"No." Zoro admitted regrettably.

Sanji chuckled lightly, "Well I don't resent you for it if that's what your fragile mind is thinking."

Zoro seemed to ignored the 'fragile' comment outright, "So when did the 'old man' adopt you?"

"Well, he didn't technically adopt me. But I was sixteen."

"I don't understand. What do you mean by technically?"

"He took me in off the street."

That had Zoro actually looking up from his work, "Why were you on the street?"

"The orphanage couldn't keep up with the bills; everything in the building was repossessed and the government kicked us all out. A lot of the younger kids were able to get some last minute homes; some of the owners took the toddlers in. I was shit out of luck – no one wants a teenager – so I ended up living in homeless shelters and alleyways."

"Why does no one want a teen?"

"Why do you think? They want the adorable little baby that they can help grow up and teach, or the young child that will still imprint on them but they won't have to deal with the awkward diaper stage." Sanji tried to keep the resentment from his tone, but he knew he failed miserably, "No one wants the angsty teenager with no education."

Zoro seemed to sense that the last thing he wanted at this point was for Zoro to start sympathizing, so he kept the conversation going, "So how did the old man find you?"

At this Sanji actually grins, "One night I'm digging through a trash can in a back alley and the owner comes out yelling about 'coons and he spots me and he just... stops. He looked at me like no else really had; pity, disgust, anger, annoyance, sadness, fear... I had seen every single expression on people's faces when they passed me by and watched me starve. But it was the first time someone had looked at me with a look of understanding."

Zoro just sat silently, listening intently but not saying anything, and Sanji was grateful.

"Next thing I know I'm doing the dishes in the back for _stealing_ and then I'm given free food and a place to stay the night. A few days later I had a full-time job there and a place to live."

"It sounds like he really cares about you, someone like that..." Zoro mumbled, "Someone like that wouldn't be happy that you disappeared."

Sanji swallowed thickly and nodded in thanks to Zoro, as he remembered the old man. His ridiculous moustache that he thought was in style, his gruff voice when he yelled at Sanji, his stupid hugs that nearly broke Sanji's back. Sure they had had their disagreements but Zeff had been the only family he had ever had. Damn, but he really wanted to make sure the man was okay...

"So how did you end up here?" Zoro's question broke Sanji from his train of thought.

"Not really exciting." Sanji shrugged, "I was walking home from work when next thing I know I'm being jumped in a back alley. I managed to beat the shit out of two of them, but the third got me over the head with something. Then I woke up in Impel."

Zoro let out a quiet huff of amusement and for a split second Sanji thought he was being cruel.

"What?"

"Nothing," Zoro shook his head, "It's just that I was jumped in a similar fashion before being carted off to Impel."

Sanji's hackles lowered and he looked down, "Oh."

The silence stretched out between them and Zoro continued to quietly chip away at a block of wood in his hands, the piece looking like nothing artistic at the moment. Sounds of the knife cutting wood broke the silence and Sanji began to get more and more curious as he watched Zoro.

Zoro was interesting, no doubt about it – he was able to bust out of Impel, he seemed fairly intelligent and was empathetic to Sanji's life. He was strong and stoic, but seemed to be hiding a softer side that he didn't want people to know about. It was almost like he was afraid to let his guard down.

"What happened to you?"

Zoro's knife paused mid cut, "What do you mean?"

"How did you get caught and taken to Impel? What..." Sanji faltered, feeling a little too bold, "What was your life like?"

When Zoro looked up from his work Sanji felt himself crumble slightly under that hard stare.

"I... I..." Sanji shook his head quickly, "Never mind. I shouldn't have asked."

"No." Zoro said calmly, "I have no problem telling you. In fact I feel obligated since you told me."

"I don't want you to feel _obligated_ to do anything." Sanji began to idly play with some of his feathers to distract himself from the piercing gaze watching him. "I guess I just want to know more about you."

"I don't want you to think that I'm prying, I just want..." Sanji trailed off, and continued to stare down at his wing, he gently plucked a feather masking a wince at the slight twitch of pain. He looked back up at Zoro, gently twirling the feather between his fingers. "I realize my request is sorta selfish. So you don't have to tell me anything."

Zoro watched him quietly for what seemed like an eternity, before he finally spoke, "You want to know me better?"

"I... Yeah."

"Well..." Zoro scratched the back of his head, "What do you want to know?"

Sanji pondered that for a moment. He still really wanted to know how Zoro had got taken to Impel. But he decided to start with something basic, "Where have I heard your last name from?"

"How should I know?" Zoro replied, bewildered.

"It sounds familiar."

Zoro looked confused, before he bit his lip and asked, "Do you know of Santoryu vehicles?"

Sanji nodded, Santoryu was one of the most prestigious vehicle companies the world over. They had motorized vehicles in every field, from skidoos and quads to tankers and planes. And everything in between. It was an extremely popular brand, not only because of the strength and durability of each vehicle, but because of its velocity. No matter what they manufactured, it was guaranteed; speed. Before Sanji had been taken to Impel Down they had also started into greener ways as well; nitrogen, hybrids and electric.

"It's my father's company."

"Woah." Sanji's eyes widened as he realized that he had seen that last name his entire life. Plastered on billboards, on television commercials and was on almost every single vehicle owned by the average American, "_That's_ where I've heard your name!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, "Not many people still remember it. Most people know Santoryu by Jones now."

"What do you mean?"

"I was President, but since I am presumed dead, the company functions under the commands of the Vice-President."

"The VP?" Sanji frowned before it dawned on him, "He sent you there didn't he?"

"Kinda." Zoro muttered, "It's a long story."

"I've got time." Sanji said preluding to the fact that he had another six hours till morning and he would be unlikely to sleep in that time.

Zoro glanced around the room, "I honestly don't know where to start."

"How about at the beginning," Sanji offered, "Where did you live?"

"Alright, well," Zoro mumbled, he paused in his work setting the carving aside but keeping the knife in hand, twiddling it around his fingers as he seemed to be trying to remember, "When my father first founded Santoryu we lived in Naha in Okinawa. I don't remember it very well since I was so young but... it was really beautiful."

"You're from Japan?"

"Yea." Zoro looked at him skeptically, "Where did you think I was from?"

"I don't know." Sanji faltered, "Always thought Santoryu was from the States."

"It certainly is popular in the Americas." Zoro offered, "But nope. It's founded in Japan; like most automobiles."

Sanji made an impressed noise, "So you grew up in Okinawa? That's the beach district right?"

"Yea." Zoro chuckled, "There were beaches."

"I've never been to a beach." Sanji admitted, "What's it like?"

Zoro actually flashed teeth when he smiled, "It's the best place in the world. You stand on the sand and can look out at the ocean. And you can never see the end; it's like being on the edge of the world."

Being born in the suburban sprawl of Philadelphia he had never had the chance to go to a beach. Sure, there had been the Delaware, but it definitely wasn't the same as the ocean. And of the few books at the orphanage only one of them had mentioned the ocean; it had sounded like one of the most amazing places on the planet.

"What's it like to swim in the ocean?"

"I never actually been." Zoro admitted regretfully, "I was too young. Father's company began to grow so we had to move to Tokyo; didn't really see any nature after that."

"What do you mean?"

"Once I started school my life revolved around the company. Each class I took, each book I read, every tutor. All of it was my father enforcing the fact that I would work in the company, one day own the company, and eventually die working for the company. I never had time to do anything really."

Sanji had to admit that it did not sound fun. Sure he had spent half his life in a building amongst twenty other kids. But he had had freedom. The nuns hardly cared what the kids got up to. Sanji had terrorized other kids, played in the mud and rode a bike like every other kid. Zoro almost sounded imprisoned by his own father.

"When I finished my Degree in Macroeconomics, my father started teaching me _business_ and the way they teach it, is nothing like it actually is."

"What do you mean?" Sanji frowned in confusion.

"In the world of business, you don't get anywhere by always playing the good guy." Zoro shrugged, "My father for example had some dealings with some less than sightly people in the eyes of the law. He had an underground drug network throughout the States, and all over Asia. And he had done lots of dealings with the mafia. Our company had even taken into bribery and sabotage to get to the top."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope." Zoro shook his head, "You won't find a single company that doesn't have something illegal going on within it. My father was just really good at not getting caught."

Sanji could sense the tension in Zoro's tone, "Did he piss off the wrong people?"

Zoro nodded quietly and clasped his hands together in his lap, holding the knife gently, "A rival company, Mihawk Motors, had been subject to some of my father's underhanded dealings. A huge recall which put a black mark on their sales records was actually my fathers fault, not Mihawk's, regardless their company was forever damaged. So, a hit was called, and whoever they had sent, he was damn good at his job; slipped past our guards, security system and all. He killed my mother. But he left my father completely unharmed."

"Well," Zoro amended, "He didn't _physically_ damaged him. I can't say he was in his right mind after that." Zoro looked off to the side, "Waking up in your wife's blood with her corpse still in bed with you, that would drive anyone over the edge."

"Zoro, shit. I had no idea, I..."

Zoro smiled lightly, "I wouldn't really expect you to."

"I – Still, I'm so sorry..." Sanji met Zoro's eyes and watched as the icy black seemed to melt somewhat and the hard exterior softened. Sanji tried to expressed how sorry he was through his body language because he didn't think he'd ever be able to verbally apologize enough for thinking Zoro had had an easy life.

"Anyway," Zoro sighed, "Afterwards it only got worse. My father continued to work, but everyone could tell he was shaken. He couldn't do his job properly, but refused to go home. He had been diagnosed, but wouldn't go for counselling or anything, he had medication though. His bathroom cabinet was full of them. All sorts; I don't know what they did, but he lived off them. And the medication might've worked, if he had been given a break. But they wouldn't give him a break. They kept picking off our family members. Sending their body parts to us in the mail."

Sanji looked at Zoro horrified, "You're not serious."

"Dead serious." Zoro said while chuckling at his pun, "You should've seen what I got for my birthday."

Sanji made a face as Zoro smirked, and Sanji began to wonder how sane this man actually was. Then again what other way could he possibly deal with it? Reliving it so many times in dreams and memories; humour was probably the only way to heal it.

"Everything made sense at that point. Why they hadn't killed my father." Zoro muttered, "They wanted him to suffer. Death would've been too easy."

"I'm truly sorry." Sanji muttered quietly.

"It's fine. Seriously."

"Not really."

A warm hand was placed on his head and Sanji's eyes opened in surprise, "Really, duck. It's okay."

Sanji blushed lightly and kept his head bowed, "Okay."

"Good." Zoro's hand ruffled Sanji's hair playfully before pulling away.

"So," Zoro continued easily, "Our mansion was immediately secured. All mail in and out was checked thoroughly, and everything and anyone else. But the security just made my father paranoid, the fact that threat letters were no longer arriving, or dead relatives, or poisonous animals, it made the tension grow. He kept wondering when the next attack would come from."

"One night..." Zoro shrugged, "I'm not sure if he had just overdosed on the meds or if he really suspected me of trying to kill him, but he came into my room at night and attacked me."

He reached down and grabbed both of his pant legs, yanking them up, revealing the large gash on each ankle, it looked as though both his ankles had been chopped off. Or attempted too. The revelation hit Sanji hard and he looked up sharply.

"No." He said in disbelief.

"Yes." Zoro countered easily, "I regret not fighting back at first, but..."

Zoro's face scrunched up weirdly, and for a moment he looked like he was about to sneeze. When he continued and his voice was slightly choked Sanji realized he was trying not to cry, "I was really scrawny for my age; I couldn't fight him off. He managed to get to the bone on each before the guards had heard my screaming and came and pulled him off."

Sanji couldn't take it, he wanted to pull the man into a hug - try and reassure him - try and take some the pain that he was hiding away. Unconsciously his wing stretched out, easily covering the distance of the bed, the tail of his wing brushing against Zoro's arm in a reassuring gesture.

Zoro leaned back casually against the headboard, reaching up a hand and gently stroking the feathers near the end of his wing. Sanji hid a blush at the feeling, it was like a gentle caress that someone would do to your cheek. Zoro continued to stare at the wing as he spoke.

"I was sent to the hospital. Legs miraculously healed, and I was soon able to walk again, I returned home only to find it empty." Zoro's hand fell away, "My dad overdosed on his medication and died."

Zoro didn't continue, but seemed lost in his own thoughts. Sanji glanced down and noticed his other hand was still clenched around the knife, and even his tough skin wasn't enough for the edge of the blade. A thin trail of blood had started and was dripping onto the blanket.

Sanji cautiously reached out – not wanting to startle Zoro – gripped his hand and slowly pried the fingers open, removing the blade and setting it on the table. He absently checked his pocket and found the black clothe he had used as a head band to keep his hair out his face while cooking.

Sanji gently wrapped it around the man's hand, tying the knot and letting go slowly. He sat back in his previous spot, not wanting to encroach on the man's personal space.

"You don't have to say anymore." He offered, before handing the bottle of rum over to Zoro's good hand.

"Naw." Zoro finally muttered before taking a shot, "It kinda feels good to finally get this off my chest."

Sanji's brows shot up against his will. Zoro had never told anyone this before? Had he been holding this in for god knew how many years? And why was he telling Sanji this?

"So then you took over, I'm assuming?"

Zoro nodded and handed the bottle back to Sanji, "My father's will made me immediate acting President. So at twenty I became President of Santoryu, and I hated it. It's like they say; 'It's lonely at the top.' I had no family left, I barely had any friends to begin with, and nobody seemed to care about what had happened. They just expected me to take my father's place and keep the cycle moving. It made me sick."

Zoro seemed to be ranting a little and so Sanji tried diverting the conversation a little. "You said it was the VP's fault. How'd it happen?"

"Jones was the Vice-President and basically the man behind all the drug trafficking throughout the world – a really weird steroid – I'm pretty sure he was jacked up on them. I knew he didn't like the fact that after years of working with my father he was just ignored and I was made CEO instead. He completely resented me for it. But my father would rather have the company dissolved than in the hands of other people."

Zoro was looking down at the black bandana that was wrapped around his hand. His other hand absently rubbing at the wound, most likely trying to ease the pain by pressure.

"Regardless, Jones kept up his work and I had to get my hands dirty with all the old dealings my father had started. On Jones' orders I went to a meeting with Crocodile – a mafia boss in the area – it was a standard meeting, everything went fine. Then I left."

Zoro sighed in annoyance, "It was stupid, as soon as I stepped outside all my men were shot down – I was also shot – but it was just to immobilize. I wasn't conscious during the travel, I was probably drugged. But I woke a week later in Impel Down."

"Why didn't they killed you?"

"Oh," Zoro chuckled, "Jones left me a note. At the time I was furious when I read it. But now I'm kind of grateful. It explained that I wasn't doing the company justice, that I didn't care and that it was time that someone else was running it. He also explained that Mihawk was behind everything; the hit on my father, my families deaths and of course my abduction. At the bottom of the letter it said that simply shooting me wasn't good enough; that letting me die a slow painful death would be much more satisfying. It was signed by Jones and Mihawk."

"Holy shit." Sanji said on a breath, "Mihawk?"

"Yup." Zoro grinned, "Both of them are probably furious when they found out about my will."

"You had a will?" Sanji raised a brow, when he was twenty he didn't even think about needing one. After being in Impel he kind of wished he did, but it was a bit late now.

"My dad had me write my first one when I was fourteen. And after living in his world I understood why." Zoro crossed his arms and frowned, "Basically everyone is out to get you."

"So your will stumped them, huh?"

"Most likely. I said that under no circumstance – even my death – should the company go into the hands of anyone but a Roronoa. My whole family was killed so it wasn't like they could bribe anyone to take my place. So, even though Jones is VP he doesn't have nearly as much power as he probably wanted. The thought of him stewing in anger kind of helped me get through Impel."

Sanji laughed, "You're pretty smart."

"Did you think I was stupid?"

"Kinda," Sanji snickered, "I thought you were the all brawn and no brains type."

Zoro scowled, "Impel made me this way."

"Mah," Sanji waved a calming hand, "Take it easy I was just joshing you."

The conversation had lightened somewhat and Zoro didn't look nearly as haunted as when he had been talking. Another gulp of rum and he set about cleaning the knife of blood before continuing his carving. A body was somewhat identifiable, but other than that no features had yet been carved into the wood.

"That's why you didn't trust me, huh?"

"Hmm?" Zoro made a noise but remained intent on his work.

"Your father. Jones. And Mihawk..."

"People lie." Zoro sighed, "And I don't want my friends to make the same mistake I did."

Sanji fell forward and placed his forehead and hands to the bed, "I'm so sorry for disrespecting you for not trusting me."

"Oi. Don't do that. It's weird."

"No." Sanji's voice was muffled by the bed, "I'm a horrible person."

A solid hand was once more placed on Sanji's hand, "And I forgive you, duck."

Sanji bit his lip, forehead still resting on the bed, "Can I ask you something about Impel?"

"Ask. And I'll decide whether or not to answer."

Sanji looked up lightly, "Why haven't you gone to the world with this? Why is it that no one has found out or tried to stop Impel yet?"

"Ah." Zoro paused before glancing over at the door before back at Sanji, "I'm not really supposed to tell you; it's Rayliegh's job."

Sanji sighed, but remembered his promise. "Alright, never mind."

The questions were eating him away, but if all he needed to do was be patient then it wasn't like he couldn't wait. Zoro had said that he trusted him, so that was more then enough reassurance that he would know everything soon enough.

"I'll make you a deal."

Sanji glanced up at Zoro, broken from his previous thoughts, "What?"

"I'll tell you everything that's general knowledge. But everything that's Rayliegh's jurisdiction you need to promise not to bug me about. Sound good?"

"Well what exactly is Rayliegh's jurisdiction?"

Zoro stared dead-panned at Sanji.

"Alright. Alright." Sanji chuckled, "I was just kidding."

"If I don't answer a question; don't bug me about it." Zoro repeated seriously.

"Fair enough." Sanji agreed.

Zoro seemed satisfied with Sanji's answer, "Okay then. Ask away."

"Why haven't you guys gone to the media or the government or something?"

"Because it wouldn't do any good." Zoro said sadly, "Impel is fully authorized by the government."

"What?!"

"You heard me."

"Our government would never allow that!" Sanji was appalled, "That would violate the Constitution. They would be violating all human rights and codes. No political supremacy would authorize chemical testing on their own people. You're lying."

"Stop it." Zoro muttered darkly, "You've seen that place; are you still foolish enough to believe that everything in this world is pure and good. Where do you think that place gets its funding?"

"I..." Sanji looked aside in annoyance, "I don't know."

"Taxes." Zoro spat, "Every fucking tax you paid went straight to them. You _paid_ for all the equipment that they tortured and beat you with. You still believe the government has your best interests at heart?"

Sanji sat for a moment in silence trying to take it all in. Part of him wanted to scream at Zoro for lying to him, but deep down he knew Zoro wasn't lying. What would Zoro gain from lying if Rayliegh would just tell him the truth anyway? Everything he had believed in and trusted had just been ripped from him and he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do about it. All the taxes he had paid, all the belief he had in his country was suddenly gone and he was only left with a mixture of betrayal, anger and sadness.

Sanji managed to calm his raging thoughts enough to ask, "Why does the government need that place?"

Zoro sighed heavily, "They believe that if they have advancements in medicine and intellect then the world could easily become a new world order under one World Government."

"So the USA wants to take over?" Sanji asked in complete disbelief.

"Not exactly. IMPEL is conjugally owned by DOWN."

"Okay." Sanji felt a little exasperated, "What's DOWN?"

"The Designated Organization of the World Nations."

"Who's in it?"

"The States, China, United Kingdom, France and Russia."

"You're joking?"

"Kind of a sick joke, isn't it?"

Sanji watched Zoro steadily for a moment. The man really wasn't elaborating on anything, he really was sticking to the deal and only answering the questions, "Alright so what does IMPEL stand for?"

"The Investigation, Manipulation and Plenary Examination of Lifeforms."

"That almost makes it sound professional." Sanji scoffed, "So why do they need a World Government?" Sanji was really trying to keep the conversation light but inside he was burning. Why he had ever thought that Impel was some illegal place that the government had yet to discover was beyond him? Wishful thinking, most likely.

"Money. With the economy lately it's coming down to the world's most powerful countries to hold everyone else up. They practically own the world anyway with all the debts owed to them. By manipulation they want to just join the world together completely and get rid of exchange rates, tariffs and trading. One World Government, one world coin."

Sanji brought his knees up and buried his face, "So the world is okay with this? With Impel?"

"The world has no clue. The world doesn't know shit." Zoro scowled, "It's the leaders; the ones in positions of power. Impel is their research facility so when they finally bring up their plan for a World Government they can throw on the table all the medical advancements, technology and engineering that they have to offer the world."

"So, bribery?" Sanji looked up.

"Call it what you want." Zoro snorted, "But when they call a International meeting of Nations and offer a cure for cancer in exchange to rule the world; you can bet that almost nothing with stop it from happening."

Sanji laughed hollowly, "You know... if I hadn't been stuck in there and seen what was actually happening... I probably would have liked the idea of a World Government."

"I thought the same..."

Sanji sat there, with all this information buzzing inside his head trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do. The thought of returning home - back under a government that had tortured him - to try and live normal life seemed impossible now. It almost felt like the entire world was against him and the only people left to trust was the people in this base and the man currently sitting across from him.

"Chopper mentioned something about you guys breaking in?"

If it was true then he'd have something to hope for. Something to strive to help these people accomplish so that maybe he could sleep peacefully at night knowing that that place would soon be gone.

Zoro sighed, "Those guys can't lie to save their lives."

"So?" Sanji prodded, "You just gonna tell me?"

"Nope." Zoro smirked, "I've said more than enough. Besides Rayliegh's better at explaining it than me. Actually, we'll be having a meeting tomorrow. If you pass his test then you'll get completely filled in."

But Zoro's smirk was more than enough to know that it was true.

"So, you're admitting that Rayliegh's immediately gonna trust me?"

"Shut up." Zoro rolled his eyes and turned back to his work, "You're so annoying."

"Alright, well can I ask something unrelated?" Sanji looked at the man hopefully.

"Knock yourself out."

"What are you going to do once everything is finished here?"

As though he had rehearsed it numerous times in his head he said without pause, "Returning to Tokyo, killing Mihawk and Jones and dissolving my company, and then just... living a normal life."

Sanji cast a forlorn look at his wings,_ A normal life..._

Nothing sound better.

* * *

A/N: So now you know about Impel; thus the plot thickens. By the way, no harsh feelings for Mihawk. I love him as a character but it was too tempting to make him the bad guy XP Also if anyone gets the DOWN and the five countries joke you get +5 Internet points :)


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:

This chapter is dedicated to Krissum and alguien22792 who both guessed right about Ray ;)

I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. These last few weeks were incredibly hectic with juggling a new job, several mid-term exams and a mind-numbing amount of term papers that were due. However, I am now free until Christmas(for the most part) and will continue to update weekly. :D

* * *

"Flying.

Whatever any other organism has been able

to do man should surely be able to do also,

though he may go a different way about it."

- Samuel Butler

* * *

Late into the morning Zoro found himself out among the forest, bow in hand as he watched the late September sun slowly crest over the mountains to the east. The snow line was getting further toward the valley and he was certain that in a few weeks there would be a light frosty layer down on the forest floor as well.

Franky did buy a lot of their supplies and food, but with Luffy's stomach and a base full of nine it was hard to keep the place stocked and not draw attention from Jaya with how much they purchased. That was why as much as they could find out here in the mountains was also used. A deer, a few fish from the creek or even a bear was easily usable.

With all of his senses on high alert he ducked and wove through the trees making sure not to make a sound. Not even a crack of a branch was heard under his soft yet purposeful strides. Hunting took his mind off any problems he might be having – being too focused on stalking his prey – it left little room for him to be contemplating anything else. And at the moment he had a lot of things going through his mind. Namely things about Sanji, and last night.

The last thing he had intended to do was to spill his entire sob story to the man, and yet Sanji had sat there and listened respectfully and Zoro hadn't been able to stop himself. The weight that he had been carrying for years finally felt a little lighter as he explained his life for the first time. And the more time he had spent talking to the blond the more he had realized he enjoyed Sanji's company. Sanji had been cheerful, and respectful, joking and apologetic. Apologetic! How was that even in Sanji's repertoire of emotions? Before Zoro even knew what he was doing he was ruffling Sanji's hair and jokingly pushing him off the bed; he didn't have an excuse for his actions – which was a bit of a problem.

And when he had woken up in the morning that had been a new problem altogether. Finding himself sleeping a foot away from the snoring blond who had haphazardly covered them both with his wing. He had felt nervous and clammy and excited all at once and had fallen out of bed trying to get away from Sanji in his embarrassment. He had sat on the floor for some time contemplating the very things he was now, but when he had gotten the urge to climb back into bed and sleep beside the blond undisturbed, that – more than anything – had him on his feet, bow in hand as he rushed from the room.

Even now he was still confused by his own behaviour but as he heard a faint sound Zoro shoved aside the thoughts and focused solely on the task at hand. Zoro paused and kept his back flush against a tree, the bow held carefully in his right hand, his fingers gently stroking the feathers on the arrow.

It would be easy to simply strangle the creature, but an internal part of him didn't feel up to snapping a creature's neck with his hands. Sure there were a select few people that he would love to get his hands on and hurt in the most cruel way possible, but he had no grudge against these animals; he just needed to survive. Besides, chasing down an animal and simple hitting it over the head wasn't nearly as challenging nor interesting as hunting them.

Zoro carefully leaned forward to glance around the tree and found the deer he had been tracking for the past hour. She had an elegant long neck that lead to delicate head that was nibbling lightly on some shrubs. Her ears were broad and stretched out listening for any sign of a predator, and her tail was perked up cutely. Her body had a wonderful beige coat that was littered with faded spots and was significantly fatter due to her storing up for the winter.

He raised the bow expertly, wood creaking lightly as he drew back the string. The deer's ear twitched but she remained oblivious as she continued munching on some willows, her jaw rotating in exaggerated movements as she chewed the waxy saplings. Breathing gently on the string, he centred the bow accurately; lining the arrow up with her heart.

She moved ever-so-slightly as she shifted her weight back and forth on her hind legs, the strong muscles in her haunches flexing. Zoro watched critically at each movement she made, not moving a single one of his own muscles and as soon as her fidgeting ended Zoro released the arrow.

It whizzed through the air, slicing through the trees silently before imbedding sharply in her body. She jerked at the pain but the fatal hit had her collapsing instantly. The body fell to the ground in a heap and a few twitches finally had her laying completely still.

Zoro lowered the bow with a smug grin before making his way over to the carcass and kneeling beside her, placing a hand on her haunch before wrenching the arrow out of her body. He wiped it clean on his pant leg before putting it in the quiver on his back.

Respectfully, he inspected the doe and noted that she had an extremely thick coat, the fur was soft and warm underneath his cold hands. She was also just as plump as he had assumed upon his tracking of her and she would probably last about a week, at the rate of Luffy's hunger. Making sure the wound wouldn't bleed out onto himself, he hefted the deer onto his shoulder. He had barely made it five feet when a cheerful voice called down on him.

"Very nice, Robin Hood."

Zoro glanced up to see the object of his previous thoughts sitting on the branch of an oak, legs swinging childishly beneath him as his wings fluttered lightly. He watched Zoro with a cheeky grin and Zoro felt his stomach do a stupid sort of flip-flop. Brushing the feeling off as nothing more than probably hunger he baited Sanji, "Think you could do better?"

From the twitch in Sanji's eye he could tell the blond desperately wanted to claim that he could but instead reluctantly informed, "Never used one."

"Want to try?" Zoro offered with a challenging smile. He knew the blond would take the challenge, it was just in his nature. After spending so long confused by the blond's split personality he had soon figured out some of the easier whims of the man. Granted, Sanji was still one confusing nut.

Sanji noted Zoro's challenge, pushed himself off from the branch and landed before Zoro barely making a sound. He was oddly dressed for the chilly mid-morning; his thin cotton zip up shirt and pair of shorts hardly looked warm, but the blond seemed unperturbed.

"Love to."

Zoro deposited the deer on the ground and glanced around the small clearing for an acceptable tree. A large red caught his attention and he snatched an arrow from his quiver, strung it up, and raised the bow as he steadied his breathing. He gave Sanji a small chance to note his stance and technique before releasing the arrow. It imbedded into the tree with a thunk and Zoro handed the bow and an arrow off to Sanji.

"Try getting as close to the arrow as possible."

"Alright." Sanji took the bow in his left and strung up the arrow, fumbling a little until finally getting the arrow on the rest and drawing the string back with little difficulty. He stood with the bow loaded but at this point looked a little lost. "What do I do now?"

"Well first you should be facing me, not the target."

Sanji lowered the bow slightly, the muscles in his arms still staying tense, "That makes no sense."

"Yes it does. Here." Zoro took a hold of Sanji shoulders and turned the man to face him, trying to ignore the heat radiating from the man that warmed his chilled fingers. "You want the side of your body facing the target; it'll give you better aim."

"Okay..." Sanji brought the bow up once more and looked along his shoulder and the line of his bowarm at the tree. "It feels weird."

"Yeah. It does at first." Zoro gently took Sanji's arm and bent it slightly, "You don't want your arm straight otherwise the string is going to slap your arm and it hurts like a bitch."

Sanji allowed his arm to be bent and Zoro quietly noted that it was probably the first time Sanji had went along willingly with anything Zoro had ever said or done. Sanji adjusted his grip to compensate for the odd bend in his arm and then looked at Zoro for the next clue.

"Feet should be shoulder width apart." Zoro instructed and Sanji adjusted his stance, "Now have the bow high enough that the arrow is eye level. Take aim then slowly release your hold."

Sanji turned his attention to the tree and frowned in concentration, he took a deep breath like Sanji had observed Zoro do then released it as his fingers let go. The string snapped and the arrow was launched and before the arrow even hit the tree Sanji swore loudly.

The arrow hit near the base of the tree – a good three to four feet off – but otherwise good for a first time. Zoro tilted his head slightly, "It's okay. It wasn't that bad for a first time."

"No." Sanji scowled and rubbed his left arm vigorously, "The damn string got me."

Zoro laughed and snatched up Sanji's left arm noting the large oblong red mark that was beginning to swell on Sanji's inner forearm, "Yeah, that'll bruise."

"Fuck, that hurt."

"I did warn you."

"Yeah, well I learned my lesson now didn't I?" Sanji muttered sarcastically before reaching over Zoro's shoulder and grabbing another arrow and stringing it up. Zoro watched in light amusement as Sanji strung up the second arrow, and exaggeratedly bent his arm out of harms way.

"Help me with my aim now would you?" Sanji asked glanced down at himself to make sure he was standing properly. "I swear I aimed right."

"Well, it did hit your arm so that threw it off. And..." Zoro stepped forward and leaned close to stare along the line of Sanji's arrow, lifting the blonds back arm slightly to adjust the angle. Zoro glanced quickly at Sanji as the blond was still occupied with staring at his target.

Sanji's brows were furrowed in concentration, the expression causing a cute scrunch in his slender nose and his eyes to narrow slightly; highlighting the blond lashes and the bright blue of his eyes. Sanji's tongue was sticking out slightly as he focused and Zoro noted the stubble that was staring on the man's chin and up the blond's strong jaw. Zoro swallowed slowly as he realized just how close he actually was to the blond and that he could smell Sanji's alluring musk.

He felt a wave of nervousness hit him like a bag of bricks to the stomach.

Sanji flipped his hair lightly but the bangs fell back into place regardless, covering his curly eyebrows and found himself wanting to ruffle Sanji's hair again. The stark blue eyes shifted to him and Zoro knew Sanji asked something but couldn't do anything than stare back into those hypnotizing blue pools.

"Huh?" He managed hoarsely.

"And...?" Sanji coaxed, an eyebrow arching in question at Zoro's behaviour. Sanji probably didn't know, but whenever he gave that questioning look his head always tilted slightly to the left causing his bangs to swing precariously and reveal that other blue eye.

"You – uh..." Zoro coughed lightly when his voice caught. "You gotta gauge how much the arrow will drop and interferences... like wind."

"Okay." Sanji muttered, indifferent to the racing thoughts whizzing through Zoro's head. "So aim a little high?"

"Basically." Zoro managed before turning away and purposefully staring off into the trees. The intricate placing of them had the eye looking on forever between the infinite gaps between the trunks and every so often an area was lit up with glorious golden rays that bathed the ground in an autumn hue. But even the stunning beauty of the current season couldn't stop the sudden realization that hit him.

Holy fuck...

Out of all the times Sanji had shoved his face into Zoro's personal space and yelled vulgarities not once had he actually observed Sanji as anything other than a blond-haired idiot. But past that... Sanji was attractive. Fuck that; he was drop dead gorgeous.

Zoro wished he could pinpoint the exact moment when he could say that his view of the blond had shifted from annoying curly-eyebrowed idiot to blond-haired, blue-eyed gorgeous dumbshit, but he honestly couldn't decide. Sure, when the blond had woken up Zoro could admit that he was good looking but as he began spewing insults and had a heated temper Zoro had realized what an annoying person this man must be.

But...

But as he had spent more time with him he couldn't understand when he had dropped his guard. At what point had he deemed this man so trustworthy as to spill his entire life for the man to know. And yet he had. And as much as alcohol would be lovely to blame, Zoro knew he was only kidding himself. He had wanted Sanji to know.

Maybe it had been watching Sanji fly that had at first made him come to terms with what kind of person he was. Nothing defined a person more than the actions they took while under the impression that they were alone. Sanji had barely been a spec on the sky as he flew about in no orderly pattern; dropping suddenly when he pulled his wings into his body, and racing toward the clouds as he viciously beat his wings. And while Zoro had stood out on that cliff and watched Sanji fly he knew that there were probably more intricacies and quirks to the man than he could probably ever figure out.

When he had grasped the man's hand in his he wasn't quite sure what had come over him, but he had known that the feeling was one that he had liked. At the time he hadn't understood his actions, but now they seemed painfully obvious as Sanji stalked toward the tree and snatched the arrow from the trunk, grumbling because of his miss.

He liked Sanji.

Zoro didn't now what exactly that encompassed but it was there and now that he knew it was he felt every single one of his actions and observations motivated it. He certainly wasn't opposed to the male gender, and at the moment he had no impulse to kiss the man, nor do anything intimate. But as Sanji strung up the bow and once more focused in on the tree, Zoro knew that at that moment he just wanted the blond near. He wanted the stupid arguments, the snarky comments that kept him on his toes, and the few moments of uncommon niceness from the blond.

Zoro palmed his mouth as he let out a quiet, distressed noise.

He glanced down at the black bandana still tied securely around his injured hand; remembering the gentleness in Sanji's hands as he had wrapped up the wound. Sanji had been uncommonly civil and dare he say nice, during their time together last night. Surely he wasn't the only one with these racing thoughts that were making his brain hurt?

The arrow landed with a thunk in the tree and Sanji made an annoyed noise. Zoro glanced up and broke himself out of his train of thought, "What's wrong?"

Sanji gestured with an annoyed hand toward the arrow that was still low on the tree, "That wasn't where I was aiming for at all."

"Yeah, well." Zoro smirked, "It takes practice."

"One more time?"

Zoro shrugged lightly, "By all means. I have nothing else to do."

"Shouldn't you be off stealing from King John?"

"Fuck off."

Sanji just laughed before stringing up the bow once more and taking aim. There was one more thing that could possibly be the problem with Sanji's aim, but he wasn't sure if his want to point out was due to his newest revelation about Sanji, or just because he wanted to help.

Fuck it, Zoro thought vaguely as he motioned at Sanji to hold fire.

Zoro reached out – desperately hoping that Sanji wouldn't note anything about his behaviour as weird – and completely brushed the bangs aside and hooked them behind an ear. Sanji raised an eyebrow at Zoro and for a moment Zoro was scared that he had crossed a line.

"What's that for?"

"Keep both eyes open." Zoro explained, "You're throwing off your aim with your hair in the way."

Sanji seemed to accept the answer and turned back to the tree, biting his lower lip as he forcefully kept both eyes open. He seemed to take a few moments to get used to both eyes focusing instead of one, but his lip was soon released from his teeth and then the arrow was sharply fired.

The arrow pegged itself into the tree a couple inches from Zoro's arrow and Sanji turned to Zoro with a large smile, his face uncharacteristically boyish in his glee. Zoro found a blush creeping up his cheeks at the expression and bent down to pick up the deer to hide his face.

"Good job, Little John. Now let's get back to Sherwood."

Sanji looked affronted but Zoro just grinned and turned to make his way back through the forest. He heard Sanji run to the tree to retrieve the arrows before his footsteps quickened as he ran to catch up to Zoro.

"Oi. There's no fucking way _I'd_ be _your_ side-kick."

~X~

Sanji stared in shock at the man who walked through the door, looking exactly as he did the day he had left Impel Down. Granted he had obviously had a shower and a shave, and had gotten clean clothes, but there he stood. Being greeted happily by everyone, laughing cheerfully.

Once everyone had calmed down, Ray looked at Sanji, that twinkle ever present. He walked over to Sanji and held out his hand, "I believe I haven't properly introduced myself; I'm Rayleigh Silvers."

Sanji tentatively reached out and took it, shaking firmly, "Sanji Black."

Rayleigh smiled happily, "So you escaped after all."

"You're the one who told me to."

"Well, I'm very glad it worked out."

"That's why you were in there." Sanji realized sharply, "You were getting intelligence."

"That I was. But I assume you're very confused by all this." He gestured to the large stone table, "How about we take a seat and explain everything?"

Luffy grinned before jumping on Sanji, wrapping his legs and arms around the blond several times in his form of a hug. "Yay! You hear that Sanji; we get to keep you!"

Sanji chuckled as he attempted to sit down while disentangling himself from the rubber boy. An arm was successfully pulled off, but the boy's legs had a boa constrictor mimicry going on around Sanji's waist. A few tugs that proved pointless had Sanji giving up.

"That was it?" Sanji asked in confusion, looking over at Rayleigh, even though his other hand was still on Luffy's cheek as he tried to pry the boy away.

"Indeed." Rayleigh tapped the side of his nose, "That's why I befriended you in Impel. Many have lost the will to fight, and many are too weak to carry on. But you, I saw you and I knew were a kind person. What you did for that girl..."

Sanji blushed and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Anyone would've done that."

"No, not anyone. And that's what makes you different. That is what makes you belong here."

Luffy finally let go and climbed up into his seat. He swung an arm around Sanji's shoulder amiably, "Knew from the start you belonged here. Your cooking was the decision maker."

Sanji chuckled, "Well, I just hope that I can be of some use."

"Everyone is key if we are to make this work. And I trust you to be able to accomplish whatever task you're given."

Sanji grinned in gratitude, "I will sir."

"Now," Rayleigh said assertively while stroking thoughtfully at his whitening beard, "I guess I'll have to begin with what Impel is exactly-"

"Zoro told me most of it." Sanji conceded as he grinned over at the green-haired man.

"Really?" Nami raised a brow in interest.

"I told him about the government." Zoro interjected quickly. "That was it."

Everyone seemed a little shocked by this, but Zoro must've had some sort of authority because this was quickly brushed off as acceptable. But Sanji still caught the surprised look Nami sent Zoro's way and the returned scowl of annoyance and vulgar gesture.

"Well," Rayleigh chuckled, "That certainly saves me some time. Let's get right to the point then. As a smart boy like you has probably already figured out; we're breaking into Impel."

"I guessed so, yeah." Sanji acceded, "But I honestly don't know how you're going to."

"Well this project has been in the works for the past three years. You actually arrived at a very exciting time; we have set the date of invasion for a month from now on October 24th."

"Three years?"

"Something as delicate as this needs to be handled carefully. We can't just go barging in and make a mess of things. We've taken this time to do covert operations and find out as much as we can about its interior. When we do finally attack it needs to be perfect. We don't have the option of making mistakes."

"Nami." He nodded in silent request to the woman, who returned the head gesture with a grin before turning to the huge table. She laid out several blueprints, each one was done with a amazing detail as though they were the original designs for the building, down to the last measurement and doorway. Each map seemed devoted to different portions of the interior and then Nami placed the largest of them all right in the centre.

Seeing the side cut view of Impel was interesting and it finally put into light exactly what the testing facility looked like. It had a shape of a triangle; the top barely poking out of the ground and the further it dropped the larger the body became. The base of the entire structure was at least a hundred times larger than the top and a scribbled note on the blue print put the bottom level at almost a kilometre underground.

"Wow." Sanji muttered on a breath.

"We've been working on the maps for a while." Nami explained professionally, "But I've finally gotten enough information to create a full, reliable map of the entire layout of Impel. There are exactly 150 levels. Each floor is set out in a cyclical pattern. This one is the bird's eye view perspective." Nami pulled out a large binder and placed it in front of Sanji. "It will make more sense."

Sanji flipped it open to a random page and true enough the structure was laid out in a circle; all the halls and corridors also seemed to be arranged in accordance to the circular pattern. He noted the top page said "Floor 49" and began flipping through finding that all 150 floors were accounted for.

"Nami, this is incredible."

"Thank you." Nami accepted the compliment with a proud smile and handed Sanji another large binder, "This is filled with all that we know so far. I had a feeling you might want to review it yourself."

Sanji flipped open the binder and found the tab labelled "Maps" and flipped it open to that page. A detailed longitudinal diagram of Impel was immediately shown as well as a legend on the side which organized the floors into several main categories.

_FLOORS_

_Floors 1-10 – Blugory Barracks_

_Floors 11-20 – Housing Units_

_Floors 21-30 – Documentation_

_Floors 31-40 – Chemical Engineering_

_Floors 41-50 – Hospital and Patient Recovery_

_Floors 51-60 – Cleaning and Sterilization Clinic_

_Floors 61-70 – Gymnasium, Aquarium, and Practice Facilities_

_Floors 71-80 – Physical Testing Ward_

_Floors 81-90 – Mental Testing Ward_

_Floors 91-100 – Mortuary and Deceased Clinic_

_Floors 101-150 – Cells_

After the opening map there was a page of each floor and details accounting for most of what was located on that floor as well as the dimensions and other notes.

"I hope you'll study up." Rayleigh smiled as he brought out a small notepad from his pocket, "I want you to be in the loop but there's only so much time I have to get everything ready."

"You don't have to worry." Sanji placed his hand on the open binder, "This means a lot to me; I won't take it lightly."

"I know you won't." Rayleigh nodded happily, "Now I'd like you officially meet the leaders of each essential component of our invasion. Luffy and Zoro; head captains for invasion and offensive. Nami, Usopp and Brooke; our retrieval squad. Chopper; head doctor, Robin; head of document recovery and Franky; our head engineer and demolition expert."

Each gave a wave or a nod when their title was announced and Sanji felt a little weird having them introduced to him a second time. But another part of him was elated; a thrum of energy pulsing through him at the knowledge that he was finally a part of this plan. Finally, he was going to be able to make a difference in something that truly mattered.

"So, Sanji." Rayleigh addressed the blond as he began flipping through his notepad, "I need to finalize some details but when we are done just ask any questions you need to."

"Okay." Sanji nodded.

The old man seemed to finally find the page he was looking for. "Franky." Rayleigh turned to the cyborg, "You and Bege have been working on the explosives. How are they coming?"

"We finished up and it's all stored at Bege's base."

"Good." Rayleigh nodded, producing a pen and making a small note, "Now I'll be having his team and you set up the detonators once we get inside. The structural weaknesses are here," He pulled out a blueprint from the pile and pointed to an intersecting point that had been circled in white, "And here." He pointed to another that appeared in an opposite location on the map. "I'll need you to study these thoroughly with Bege's team and make sure that when you actually get in you'll be able to set up and get out in the minimal amount of time."

"Way ahead of you boss." Franky grinned broadly, "We're going for a Pancake Effect[1]. Destroy the base and weaken the internal structure and have the whole thing collapse level at a time. The ground will collapse in around it and there will essentially be nothing left but a small hole in the ground."

"Will you have enough time?"

"More than enough." Franky waved a hand, "And with the way it's built it'll come down easy. Anything else you need?"

"Small hand detonators." Rayleigh tore a page out of his book that from afar looked to have a diagram of a small hand held device as well as several notes on the side and gave it to Franky, "We can't waste time with keys, so we'll need small controlled explosives for opening doors. As many as you can make in time."

Franky whistled lightly, "Alrighty. Bege and I will get started right away."

Rayleigh nodded gratefully, "Thank you."

As the two of them had been talking Sanji had opened his binder and been curiously flipping through. There was an uncanny amount of multicoloured dividers that separated the documents into all sorts of different divisions, and at the beginning there was a three page long index that listed all the contents of the file. Sanji flipped open to a chapter that had caught his attention labelled "Captains" and immediately noted everyone from the crew was amongst the top.

_CAPTAINS_

_Luffy D. Monkey_

_Code Name: Straw Hat_

_Captain: Offensive_

_Ability: Permanent transformation of body into rubber._

_Zoro Roronoa_

_Code Name: Hunter_

_Captain: Offensive_

_Ability: Up-graded muscle._

_Nami Mikan_

_Code Name: Burglar_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Body permanently electricalized._

_Usopp Soge_

_Code Name: Sogeking_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Partial cyborg._

_Tony Tony Chopper_

_Code Name: Tonaki_

_Captain: Doctor_

_Ability: Mind transplant; deer._

_Robin Nico_

_Code Name: Fleur_

_Captain: Documental Recovery _

_Ability: Epidermal control and morphing._

_Cutty Flam; Franky_

_Code Name: Cyborg_

_Captain: Demolition_

_Ability: Cyborg._

_Brooke Rumbar_

_Code Name: Dead Bones_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Skeletal strengthening. Side affect; glowing._

Sanji noted the explanations of all his companions with interest, never really having known exactly what some of his friends full names were or what had happened to change their bodies. The nicknames deeply interested him and he wanted to know the story behind each one.

Further down the page was even more names; but were of people he hadn't heard of.

_Kidd Eustass_

_Code Name: Magnet_

_Captain: Offensive_

_Ability: Body magnetized._

_Killer_

_Code Name: Killer_

_Captain: Offensive_

_Ability: Partial cyborg; arms._

_Drake X._

_Code Name: Rex_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Partial body transplant; lizard._

_Urouge_

_Code Name: Giant_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Extreme body growth._

_Law Trafalgar_

_Code Name: Ope_

_Captain: Doctor_

_Ability: Heightened intelligence. Side affect; tendency towards psychopathic behaviour._

_Basil Hawkins_

_Code Name: Voodoo_

_Captain: Documental Recovery_

_Ability: Organic constituency in flesh. Fast recovery speed._

_Bege Capone_

_Code Name: Fortress_

_Captain: Demolition_

_Ability: Cyborg; weaponry._

_Apoo Scratchmen_

_Code Name: Sound_

_Captain: Retrieval_

_Ability: Partial cyborg; instruments._

The names continued on but were no longer under the header of "Captain" and were instead underneath each Captain's name; a list of every occupant that was supposedly at their base. Some names were honestly giving, but then there were the few – like Killer – who seemed to want to keep their identity a complete secret.

Sanji backtracked to Law's profile and noted 'Ope', vaguely remembering Luffy having using the name on a previous occasion. An interesting way to address everyone – by a nickname – but he assumed that when this was all said and done names would not want to be remembered.

"Robin?" Rayleigh turned to the ebony haired woman, flipping to another page in his notebook.

"The storage area you requested is completed and has been redesigned to keep it from getting damp or moist." Robin reported coolly, "There should be more than enough space for the estimate amount of documents recovered."

"That'll be more than enough." Rayleigh muttered, "More than half those documents will be on the already deceased. We will want all we can on the living so that we can hopefully cure all that we can."

"I'd actually like to quickly discuss with you and Basil on how to file everything." Chopper quipped, "Law and I will need everything well organized so we can get to work quickly. Some will even be in critical condition. We won't have time to go through a million files."

"Don't worry." Rayleigh replied, "A lot of their data is on an electronic mainframe. We'll get as much as we can on electronic files so it will be easier for you and Law. But I agree that you and Robin need to talk about how to get the organization easier for both. I'll leave that up to you two."

Chopper nodded happily.

"For now," Rayleigh continued, "I need you and Basil to work on a system to best get the documents out safely."

He handed Robin her own blue print, "I'd suggest skipping the elevator all together. Blast through all the housing units and have a relay system to get everything out. It will give you more time to shuttle everything back to base."

Robin's lip raised lightly in a small smile, "We were actually thinking of something along those lines. Basil is also assembling some trucks at his base so we can get to the base faster."

"Brilliant." Rayleigh smiled, "I love how little work you all make me do."

Sanji looked back at the book and then noted another divider that was labelled "Assignments". He flipped it to the first page that gave a simple index;

_ASSIGNMENTS_

_Offensive: Luffy, Zoro, Kidd, Killer – Page 34_

_Human Retrieval: Nami, Usopp, Brooke, Drake, Urouge, Apoo – Page 49_

_Document Recovery: Robin, Basil – Page 66_

_Demolition: Franky, Bege – Page 81_

As Sanji quickly skimmed through each task he noted just how detailed each plan was. Each section was filled with maps, graphs and the hypothetical explanation of how they planned to achieve their goal. The Human Retrieval section was very elaborate; noting everything from level of floors to be evacuated all the way up to the organization of patients once they were brought back to base.

"Nami, Usopp, Brooke?"

"The evacuation trails are almost complete. We've kept them fairly hidden but are easily identifiable for when we need to traffic people to the bases. There are three trails, one to each of our accompanying bases." Nami glanced over at Robin, "We are also assembling some vehicles for patients that will be unable to walk, or are injured. We estimate the number to be in the thousands, so are preparing for that possibility."

"And how are the housing quarters coming along?"

"Completed." Nami informed, "There will be a level of pandemonium and hysteria so we are going to have a supply of morphine and other sedatives on hand to calm people down until we can start to organize and treat patients."

Rayleigh nodded reluctantly, "I do not want to use force, nor drug people more than they already have been, but with such a large number of people we cannot risk a riot. I trust you to handle the situation accordingly. Now the most important thing I'll need you to focus on is food and water supplies for when we get them here."

"Any suggestions?" Usopp asked hopefully.

"I have some contacts that are supportive of our cause and are going to donate a large amount. I'll give you the number to contact them, the hard part will be getting the supplies here without arising suspicion. But I trust you can handle it."

"Fair enough." Brooke chuckled.

"Luffy. Zoro. I trust everything is still under control?"

"Plan hasn't changed." Zoro informed, "Though we have thought of a way to buy you some more time."

"Yes?"

"Kidd wants permission to use his skill to shutdown the entire electrical mainframe of the building so they can't call for back-up right away. Then he'd restart the system so the elevators can be used."

"Interesting." Rayleigh mumbled as he glanced down at his notes, "You sure he won't erase any of the data on the mainframe."

"He tested it. It'll be fine."

Rayleigh's grin broadened, "Good. The more time we have the better."

Luffy started bouncing in his seat, "I can't wait!"

"What's our time frame?" Sanji asked suddenly, "Surely the government isn't going to stand by and let this happen."

"You are correct." Rayleigh admitted, "They are going to want to protect it as best they can – they won't want to lose all that valuable data. With that in mind we have about an hour between the start of the attack and before fighter jets and Black Ops will be called in. That means we all have to be out and done within fifty minutes. My hope is for us to be completely hidden and back at base before anyone shows up."

"I'm assuming there will be a lock down until the government stops patrolling the area?"

Rayleigh nodded in confirmation, "That's why it's essential to have everything we need here before the attack. We don't know how long we'll be stuck here." He glanced at the Retrieval team, "Food will be a large issue."

"Gotchya covered boss." Usopp reassured happily.

Conversation then turned over to Chopper who began to discuss the medical supplies that they had stored up and the large clinic they had developed for once the patients were at the base. Sanji continued to flip through the binder knowing that he wouldn't be of much use if he didn't have a deeper understanding of what was going on. The final chapter at the back was labelled "History" and was a good 50 pages thick. He had barely gotten into the first paragraph when Rayleigh had happily adjourned the meeting.

Rayleigh stood with finality and turned to the group, "That's all I want to discuss. We will have a final meeting with everyone a week before the attack. For now I trust you to you to continue work with your bases."

Once dismissed by Rayleigh the rambunctious behaviour of the crew returned and everyone began to head their separate ways to begin on the tasks they had been assigned. Sanji watched as everyone collected various notes and binders from off the table before heading out toward different doors.

"Ah, Sanji." Rayleigh called for the blond's attention, "I'd like you to go along with Usopp."

"So I'm on Retrieval?" Sanji asked as he stood, tucking the binder under his arm.

"I haven't quite decided yet." Rayleigh admitted, "But I think you'll find a visit to Urouge interesting."

Sanji raised an eyebrow but at Rayleigh's smirk knew that asking wouldn't get him an answer. Instead opting for the one that he had wanted an answer to since he had first escaped from Impel. Rayleigh seemed to read Sanji's expression.

"You have a question?"

"Just one." Sanji held up the binder, "The rest I'll answer with this."

"Alright. What can I do for you?"

"You seem to know a lot about what's going on inside; do you know what happened to that little girl; Apis?"

At this Rayleigh's face fell, "I'm afraid I don't know. There are so many people in there it is hard to track them down. There are some areas that she could be being held though."

"So she could be alive?"

"Yes. She could." Though Sanji could tell from his tone that he wanted Sanji to understand not to be too optimistic, "I'll keep my ears open for any information though."

"Thank you." Sanji extended his hand and once more shook Rayleigh's, he gave the man an appreciated nod and went to meet Usopp at the door by the fireplace before following him out and into the maze of tunnels beyond.

~X~

"I bet this is all a bit over-whelming for you, huh?"

"Kind of." Sanji shrugged lightly, "It's pretty simple when you look at the basics of it, but when it comes to all the individual intricacies I do find myself a little lost."

"Well, as Zoro told me; if everyone sticks to their own task then we can't go wrong."

Sanji smirked lightly, "Sounds about right."

Zoro.

Now that was a subject that was a little over-whelming. At this point he found himself not only extremely confused by the man, but also intrigued. Their relationship had definitely started off rough, with each of them having a side that had made it hard to accepted the other. After discovering so much about Zoro's past he felt guilty about being so demanding of the man's trust. Though that conflict seemed behind them now if their behaviour was anything to go by, they had even been civil toward each other all morning.

Well... As civil as they could be if you ignored their constant bickering and goading. But Sanji assumed that their arguing was just always going to be a part of their relationship; partially because it just seemed the norm now, and also because it was just too fun to annoy the man.

Zoro had seemed a little off though. Not in any usual way, but he had gone quiet on some occasions and even acted a little kind which was a different emotion from the man. It wasn't unwanted, but it was different, and Sanji couldn't help but feel a little happy that maybe he was finally being treated like everyone else by Zoro.

The torches guiding them eventually ended and Usopp pulled out a flashlight, shining it into the blackness of the tunnel ahead of them. The stream of light shook lightly as Usopp directed it toward the ceiling and then back to the floor and Sanji grinned at Usopp's expression as he tried to keep a brave face. He hadn't realized Usopp was afraid of the dark.

"So who exactly is this Urouge guy that we're going to see?" Sanji asked, hoping the conversation would take Usopp's mind off the dark.

"One of the Supernovas." Usopp muttered, he seemed to be trying to pull off a brave facade but Sanji still heard the slight tremor in his voice.

"What?"

"Oh right." Usopp glanced at Sanji, "You don't know about the Supernova Breakout do you?"

Sanji shook his head.

"It was the biggest breakout that Impel had ever had." Usopp explained, an air of awe to his voice, "Just about three years ago eleven of the most high level security test subjects escaped. All of them had been locked up in solitary confinement at the base of Impel; one night they all broke out at once."

Sanji was quiet for a moment as he recalled the breakout he had remembered being mentioned before. They sounded oddly similar.

"So Zoro...?"

"Yup. And Luffy." Usopp nodded, "They are both insane. Zoro for obvious reasons, but Luffy... You wouldn't think rubber could be lethal but I think that Luffy is even stronger than Zoro because of it."

Sanji laughed at that, "I believe it. That kid is full of surprises."

Usopp nodded cheerfully before making a sound of relief and pointed far ahead of him where a small lantern could be seen hanging off the post on the wall. "That's the place."

The rustic old lamp swung gently on its metal hook casting flickering waves of orange to dance across the stone walls and light up the broad door that muffled distant laughter. The large wooden door didn't have a handle from their side, looking just like a plank of wood placed in the wall. There was a small slot near eye height that was probably for inspecting visitors.

"They like the control." Usopp muttered quietly, gesturing to the door before reaching up and pounding the side of his fist against the wood loudly. "Sogeking here."

The eye slot slide open abruptly and a pair of green eyes stared out and studied the two. There was a pause before a voice spoke, "Who's the bird?"

Sanji growled, "I'll show you a bird yo-"

"He's been cleared by Rayleigh." Usopp quickly interjected as he noticed Sanji's annoyance at the nickname.

The eyes seemed to inspect Sanji for a moment before rolling in what looked like annoyance. The tiny eye slot slide shut, there was the dull sound of several locks and deadbolts being unlocked and then the door opened swiftly to reveal the large rambunctious room inside.

It was just as vastly decorated as their base was and had a good feeling of home. The ceiling was higher though, and there was a vastly larger amount of people. It actually didn't feel like a room of people that were getting ready for war, but he assumed that keeping optimistic was their way of getting ready.

"Temper that one has." The auburn-haired doorman noted with a slight sneer.

Sanji's shoved his hands deep into his pockets and followed Usopp into the room, his wing flicked out and _accidentally_ smacked the man in the face, as he continued by calmly. The man gave an indignant shout but immediately quieted as a large man made his way toward the entrance.

Usopp laughed happily, running over to the man, "Urouge, how's it going?" Giving him a friendly hug before stepping back and waving to Sanji, "This here's Sanji Black. Broke out all on his own."

"Good to meet ya." Urouge rumbled, "Always good to have new allies. The name's Urouge."

Urouge extended his hand and Sanji numbly took it, barely registering the firm shake as he stood in shock as he looked up at the man. He was tall, at least twice Sanji's height, and he looked to have the strength to easily break a brick wall, but that wasn't what had him staring up in awe. It was the wings on the man's back. Granted they were small compared to the man's size, and looked less developed, but they were there. Clear as day.

Urouge watched Sanji with a levelled stare, seemingly knowing what was going on in Sanji's mind before he gestured to Usopp, "I supposed the plans have been confirmed," He inclined his head behind him, "Let us go discuss it over some ale."

They made their way into a back room with not much more than a table and a few chairs. The giant produced a bottle of wine from an ice box, and set down three large mugs. Pouring one for Sanji and Usopp before serving himself. Sanji politely sipped the wine and smiled at the rick oaky flavour. The man had good taste.

As Usopp bustled about, getting all of the replicated maps and plans out of his bag Urouge looked at Sanji with a levelled stare, "So you're the finished product I take it?"

Sanji wasn't quite sure if the man's tone was that of envy or sincerity.

"I take it the same things happened to you?"

Urouge shrugged, "I wasn't always the size of a giant." He chuckled, "But I suppose it could be worse. There are worse things that have happened to people in that place."

Sanji nodded quietly in agreement, his hand tightening on the brass handle of the tankard.

"Although my size has nothing to do with the wings." Urouge continued, "I had originally been average size when they had put me in for aerial testing. They had transplanted them onto me, but when my nervous system rejected them, I was of no further use so I was taken to a different department. That's where this happened." He vaguely gestured to himself, indicating his size.

And suddenly the reason why Rayleigh had wanted him to come here was so obvious. He wanted Sanji to be grateful. Thankful for the luck he had to not have been a failed experiment, and that he didn't have to walk around everyday carrying a burden on his back that was of no use and just a painful reminder. He had wanted Sanji to understand how lucky he truly was.

"But it looks like something different happened to you..." Urouge casually inspected Sanji's wings with a glance.

"I – I'm still not quite sure how they did it..." Sanji trailed off as he looked back at his wings. Oddly enough they had become such a dramatic part of himself that he often forgot they were there. Just like any other limb he had begun to take them for granted.

"What they are doing is not right." Urouge nodded solemnly before taking a large gulp of the wine. He swallowed and exhaled happily before asking, "So you can fly?"

Sanji noted a slight tone of jealousy and the guilt hit him hard as he realized that their positions could have easily been switched. If Urouge had broken out only three years ago then they would've been in Impel at the same time, and they could've easily been in each others shoes at this very moment. Sanji swallowed thickly as he realized the reality of the situation.

Sanji nodded humbly, still feeling a little numb from his realization, "It was how I escaped."

Urouge chuckled, "I bet they were seething with anger. After finally getting results, you run off. Although I'm sure some other poor sap will be given the same treatment. But," Urouge shrugged, "People are all different, so they might never get the same results as they did with you."

Sanji gave a half-hearted smile of agreement.

"Everything will get better." Usopp offered as he took a seat, all of the charts and other miscellaneous had been laid out. "But let's get started, shall we?"

TBC...

* * *

A/N:

[1] The Pancake Effect is a way in which a building collapses. The most famous example of this would be the World Trade Centers.

Bleargh. I'm sorry about the horrendous amount of dialogue these past two chapters but this information needs to get out there! From now on there will be significantly less talking(yes, that can be taken in a dirty sense). XP


	8. Chapter 8

"Like bones to the human body,

the axle to the wheel,

the wing to the bird,

and the air to the wing,

so is liberty the essence of life.

Whatever is done without it is imperfect."

- Jose Marti

* * *

Urouge had a hand placed over his mouth as he stared down at the charts thoughtfully. He had barely said a word throughout the entire review, but it seemed more-or-less his personality to sit back and calculate the situation. And throughout it all Sanji was no better, though his thoughts had taken a darker route.

As he stared up at the giant before him – stature forever changed by Impel – and the small wings that adorned his back remained dead and motionless, Sanji began to contemplate himself. Sanji took a large gulp of the wine hoping the alcohol would somewhat lessen the tiny bit of fear that had started to form in his gut. He had thought about it a lot lately, but of course never voiced it and tried to stifle it at most times, but what if he couldn't be cured?

What if after all the crap they had put in his body; what if he could never be normal again? The feathers on his chest had expended a little as of late; not enough to be alarming, but still he had noticed. And his nails had changed to too. Instead of a pale pink they now had a bronze hue to them and were a bit thicker – stronger. But that was hardly enough to console him. What if he would never really be _human_ again?

Indeed he was grateful to still be alive, and have been graced with an amazing gift. But at what price? Would he ever be normal again? After all was said and done would he be able to return home and see Zeff? Would this ability within him continue to fester until he lost either himself or his mind?

"I have some friends over in Skypiea," Urouge offered thoughtfully, putting forth his first few words since Usopp had begun explaining the problem of the supplies that would need to be reserved for the refugees of Impel, "They can be sent some of the supplies to be brought here."

Sanji managed to pull himself away from his spiral of panic inducing thoughts and tried to focus on the conversation. Usopp handed Urouge a small file, "That is the supplier that Rayleigh has hired; her name is 'Shakky'. Have her meet with your men and figure out the transfer. I can trust you will know to keep the meeting quiet."

"What do you take me for?" Urouge boomed with a laugh, and poured himself another glass of ale. Sanji wasn't sure what glass he was on, but with his size he could imagine that it would be fairly impossible to get the man drunk.

"So everything else is still going as scheduled?" Usopp asked carefully, as he downed the remnants of his ale and set the glass off to the side for it to be taken away by one of Urouge's lackeys.

"Of course." Urouge leaned back in his chair with a grin, "The men are just getting a bit restless is all."

"I know what you mean." Usopp agreed with a chuckle as he stood with finality, "Well, I'll be by later to help with checking over those tankers."

"Alright. Alright." Urouge nodded and made a shooing motion, "Now get outta here. I have work to do."

Usopp chuckled and began putting away most of the papers and diagrams – leaving out a few for Urouge to keep – while he said, "By the way, the final meeting will be on the 21st."

"At Kidd's base again?"

"Yes." Usopp confirmed as he slung his side bag over his shoulder and scooped up the remaining papers into his arms, "Although Rayleigh probably come by at some point just to check up on things here."

"We're always ready for a visit from him," Urouge smiled as he stood and followed Usopp out of the door and back into the main room of the base, "Now, I need to get back to work so I shall see you later."

"Of course, sorry for keeping you." Usopp called after the giant who was already lumbering away before turning and making his way through the room and back toward the exit. As they made their way through the crowd of people Sanji noted that everyone parted as soon as they saw Usopp coming. Maybe the man wasn't aware of it but he seemed to actually have a domineering presence over these idiots.

They exited the raucous room with many people bidding them good bye and when they got to the doorway the red head was once more standing by the entrance – holding the door open for them – and looking disgruntled, face still red as he glared at Sanji. Sanji flipped him an award winning smile as they left, and the door was slammed behind him with a bit more force than necessary but Sanji fully felt like he had won that entire confrontation.

Usopp fumbled with the torch – dropping several papers in the process that Sanji picked up – before finally finding the switch and flicking the light on as they made their way back to base. Sanji smiled to himself, it was kind of funny to think that all the men at Urouge's base stepped aside for this fumbling kid.

"So, are all the Supernova like him?" Sanji asked casually as he ducked around a large stalactite that hung low from the ceiling. Rippled with built up limestone, it was probably centuries old.

"Eeh..." Usopp shrugged and adjusted the pack on his shoulder, "You can't really generalize them. They're all so different."

"How so?"

"Well, personality wise they're the most diverse group of people you will ever meet. Having them all in the same room at once is hell; they just all butt heads all the time. They're competitive. Not to mention some are psychotic." Usopp's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "You'll see for yourself at the meeting."

Sanji chuckled at that, though honestly he was really interested in meeting all of these people. If they were anything like the ones he had met so far they were probably an interesting bunch. "So where do Luffy and Zoro fit in with this group?"

"Luffy and Zoro – they are in no way normal – but they definitely are the more level headed among them." Usopp grinned, "Although Luffy is still a wild card. You never know when he'll take something serious or as a joke."

"Luffy seems like a wise kid; especially for his age." Sanji commented lightly, remembering the few times he had hung around the kid and been surprised by his wisdom. Although it was usually short lived since the kid would do something comedic a few seconds later.

"Oh, he is!" Usopp agreed quickly, "He's just easily distracted by... well... life."

The doorway to the base slowly came into view ahead, threads of light leaking out from under the wooden panelling, "That's definitely a good thing." Sanji offered as he turned the knob and pushed open the door for Usopp to walk through.

Inside they found the room completely empty, everyone must have still been at their assigned bases or working on one of Rayleigh's assignments. Usopp gave a cheery nod after a failed wave had him dropping half his maps and charts, "I'll see you later, yeah? Gotta go check up on Brooke and Apoo; half the time they don't even work."

"Yeah. Be back around dinner or I'll kick your ass, okay?"

Usopp just chuckled nervously not sure if Sanji was joking or not and made his way over to a door that was shaded behind a potted plant. He fumbled with his arm load of charts, dropped several and then finally managed to get the knob to work before stumbling through the archway.

"Hey." Sanji spun around to see Franky's blue hair peeking out from behind a monstrous pile of blue-prints and various mechanical materials that was laid out on the main table. He was surprised he had missed the man's presence when he had first glanced around the room, "How'd it go?"

"Not bad." Sanji conceded with a shrug as he made his way over, "Still a little behind but more informed than I was yesterday."

"Don't worry." Franky consoled as he finished screwing the back shut on a tiny box he had been working on, "I'm still confused by some of the things going on, but I stick to my job and that helps."

Sanji nodded thoughtfully at the words, and vaguely wondered if Zoro had said the same thing to Franky as well as Usopp. If so then Zoro was shaping up to be actually a more thoughtful and companionable leader then he had first taken him for. No wonder everyone loved him despite his stingy attitude.

"So what exactly are you making?" Sanji asked curiously as he leaned over the table and glanced over all the spare parts and electrical circuits. There was also a pile of molding clay, and tools littering the rest of the work space, "Those hand held things?"

"Exactly." Franky grinned as he held up a small piece of putty and tossed it to Sanji who caught it casually and looked it over. It looked like any regular piece of modelling clay or play-dough that you might give child; although it's grey hue and smell left much to be desired.

"Looks harmless."

"Yeah..." Frank said slowly, "That's C-4. Don't breath or eat that, you'll have seizures."

Sanji immediately dropped it, "Why the fuck didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Relax. It won't kill you." Franky waved off Sanji's worry, "Not unless something activates it."

"Uh-huh." Sanji huffed slowly as he absently wiped off his hand on his shirt, "So why exactly do you have an explosive just laying around?"

"See these?" Franky held up picked up a jar that looked to be filled with small metallic pebbles, each the size of barely a millimetre in diameter. "They're small detonators. I'll mix them into the C-4. Then all you gotta do is put the clay on to a lock, or door handle, press this," Franky held up the small device he had been working on. "Then boom! Door is open. Pretty super, huh?"

"That'll really work?" Sanji raised an impressed brow as he took the small controller and glanced it over. It was simple enough; a small grey box that enclosed all the circuits, an antenna and a square red button right on the front.

"Of course it'll work." Franky boasted, "Where's your faith?"

"No. I just – that's genius." Sanji handed the controller back to the blushing cyborg, "So how do you keep them from all going off at once?"

"You're clever." Franky pointed out before pulling out a black jar, "These keep out infrared waves. So only the clay you have out will react."

"You really have thought of everything." Sanji conceded while glancing around at the mountains of supplies piled up on the table, "So I guess the only difficult part is making them all, huh?"

"Got that right." Franky chuckled, "But I got Bege's team working on them too. But at this rate I'll need to get more supplies. Good thing C-4 is so available in Jaya."

"It is?"

"It's somewhat of a military town; big and prosperous but the people are paranoid as hell. Bomb shelters, army surplus stores, tanks rolling around – it's like the people think they're gonna get attacked at any minute."

"Well, could I ask a favour then?" Sanji began somewhat nervously. Franky and Usopp may have been the main traffickers for supplies in and out of the base but he still felt bad adding more on to the man's list. Asking for help in general made him just uncomfortable.

"Fire away."

"Next time you head over there I was wondering if you could grab me some tobacco?"

"Sure." Franky boomed, looking all too pleased to help out and strangely that just made Sanji feel more awkward. He was still getting thrown off by the such friendly nature's of these people compared to those in Impel, "Any kind in particular?"

"Oh... well..." Sanji ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully, "I don't know... Cavendish if you can find it?"

"Sure thing." Franky promised happily as he procured a list and jotted down the item. "By the way, Zoro is looking for you."

Sanji raised a brow, "He is?"

"Yeah." Franky jerked his thumb toward a door beside a large painting of an island floating on a cloud, "Down that way."

"Oh, okay." Sanji made his way over before pausing, "Thanks in advance about the Caven."

"Dude, it's not a problem." Franky reassured, but his face was already back in his work and he seemed thoroughly distracted.

Turned out the door opened to a hallway that had eight collective doorways, all doors were closed, except for one at the end that had no door at all. A light was on and movement could be heard. Sanji assumed that it must've been Zoro and made his way over.

The archway was low and Sanji had to duck to allow enough space for his wings to get through. When through he straightened and looked around the room. It was just a basic room that was probably about ten square feet, Zoro was at the opposite wall, scraping away rock and smoothing out the surface.

Zoro had his shirt off, a light sheen of sweat glistened on the tan skin that was pulled taut over defined muscles. Every movement was highlighted in his back as various cords and bunches of muscles tightened. His body was perfectly sculpted, like something magazine worthy; most men would give anything for a body like it. He absently wondered how much of it was natural, and what was chemically engineered by Impel.

The man's hair had been altered, so perhaps other features as well. He'd never really taken in the man fully before; maybe because he'd never actually had time to stare at him without it seeming awkward. But now that he was he had to admit that he was physically very attractive – his attitude could use a little work however.

"Whatchu up to, moss-head?" Sanji decided to go with a snarky approach.

Zoro glanced over his shoulder, hands not diverting from their task, "I'm making your room, duck."

"M–My room?" Sanji's smirk fell away like a lead weight.

"Yeah," Zoro smirked, "You didn't think we'd keep making you sleep in Chopper's infirmary forever, did you?"

"Ah well." Sanji nervously ran a hand through his hair, "No, but..."

"Actually," Zoro grinned and turned away from the wall and made his way to Sanji, "It's a good thing you came; I needed you to fix the entrance."

"Fix it?" Sanji glanced back at the door way, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's too low." Zoro explained as he gathered some rock shavings from the ground and molded them together with his hands, "I didn't know how tall your wings were so I waited until I could actually do it with you here."

"Ah..." Sanji made a small sound, that was actually amazingly considerate of the man. Had he always been this nice and just never wanted Sanji to see this side? "Thanks. I really mean that."

Zoro shrugged and tossed the rock into a pile with several identical looking ones in the corner and made his way over. Sanji back up until his wings touched the doorway and he was vaguely reminded of standing against the large wall in the orphanage having his height measured on his birthday.

Sanji craned his neck back to watch as Zoro rested his hand on the top of the doorway but didn't make any move to do anything. Sanji glanced back at Zoro and immediately felt uncomfortable under the heavy stare that Zoro had directed his way. He seemed almost dazed but caught Sanji's look of confusion.

Zoro quickly shook his head, looking back to what he was doing with a chuckle, "Sorry, zoned out."

Sanji couldn't quite shake the uncomfortable emotion that was now stirring in his gut, but managed to stamp it down as he looked up. Zoro tapped the rock right where the crown of Sanji's wing hit, then went about three inches higher, dragging his finger across the rock, effortlessly making a line as though it were butter.

Sanji immediately side stepped so he was out of Zoro's path and the man set to carving the stone away with his bare hands, chunks falling to the floor with resounding thuds, but looking as though they should be infinitely lighter. One piece fell and tumbled before coming to a rest at his feet.

He picked up the sizable chunk and weighed it in his hand, tossing it lightly. It was fairly heavy; a strongly compacted piece of sediment that was unbreakable in his human grip. He looked back at Zoro who was now scraping at the edges of the doorway, rounding and smoothing them out as though he were working with clay.

Sanji's grip tightened on the piece of stone as he finally got a taste of the man's real strength; it was past inhuman. It was God-like. He was actually able to shape the foundations of the earth, he could move mountains. Anything this man wanted to accomplish he could do.

Sanji let the piece fall to the ground and casually walked around the small room noting the pile of spherical boulders piled up in the corner and took a closer look. They were akin to how a snowball was shaped after you formed it; pieces of the rock coming up in ridges due to the cracks between your fingers when you squeezed the snow.

"What do you do with those?" Sanji asked, breaking the silence.

Zoro jerked his head to look at the balls and then back to his work, "Keep 'em. Make stuff. Franky's always making me make furniture; probably should make your bed frame."

Sanji's eyes widened, "You _make_ furniture?"

Zoro looked up, hand wiping his brow to remove built up sweat, leaving a streak of dirt in its place, "Yeah. How do you think half the shit in here is made? Sure as hell don't order it from Ikea."

"Oh, shut up." Sanji muttered in response to Zoro scathing tone, "I keep forgetting you're not human, you stupid plant."

Zoro chuckled andSanji once more embarrassingly found himself watching the man's back as it shook with his chuckles. The definition in the lines of his shoulder blades was mesmerizing and for some reason Sanji found his eyes following the line of his spine happily to the edge of the man's pants. Sanji quickly looked to the side with mixed confusion as Zoro turned to look at him, "I'd rather be a plant then a shitty duck."

"So was that all you needed me for?" Sanji shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and refused to look up lest Zoro figure out that he had been staring, "Cause I should probably start dinner."

Zoro stepped away from the doorway with a satisfied sound and placed his hands on his hips, "Yeah, pretty sure it's all good." He grinned and swept a hand toward the door, "Try it out."

Sanji stepped through and found that he didn't need to duck nor side step at all, and he turned to Zoro with a broad grin, "Thanks; it's perfect."

Zoro smirked lightly and gave a nod, "You're welcome."

That simple smile had Sanji's cheeks flaming up and he turned abruptly, striding away purposefully with his gut fluttering and his brain a whir of confusion.

~X~

Sanji sighed with his hands disapprovingly on his hips as he stared at the large deer that now adorned most of the counter space. It seemed that Zoro didn't have time than to do more than leave it in the kitchen like an odd sort of offering. The carcass lay flopped pathetically on the counter; head lolling off to the side with a tongue casually hanging out, legs in a tangle and the fur on the chest matted with blood from where the arrow had entered its body.

Sanji reluctantly went to work on getting a tarp underneath the body and beginning the process of skinning the animal. Luckily, living on the streets – as well as Zeff – had taught him more than enough about how to skin and make use of an animal. The deer was eventually divested of its coat and he set to work cutting it up and labelling each part and storing them in the freeze box for later use. The fore legs were just finished when Zoro came into the kitchen, looking tired but accomplished.

"Hey." Zoro offered as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, downed half its contents and then took a seat at the large preparation table. He was sweaty, and had smears of dirt all over his face and body but Sanji was no better currently up to his elbows in deer blood and guts so he didn't say anything about the man's appearance.

"Hmm." Sanji grunted in acknowledgement as he continued concentrating on hacking at a rather persistent piece of sinew joining haunch and thigh. The deer was happily plump due to its storing up for the winter but the muscle had seized up somewhat and the knife had wasn't as sharp he would have liked.

"Your room is mostly done." Zoro offered, as though trying to make conversation, "Just need to get a bed in there and then its finished."

"Thanks." Sanji gritted out as he finally managed to detach leg from body, and Zoro remained quiet as Sanji finished up with remaining parts of the animal. Soon the body was all taken care of and frozen in the ice box except for the pieces he had left out for dinner.

Zoro sat at the counter and seemed to be off in his own little world while Sanji set about preparing dinner – slicing the cuts properly and dicing up the required vegetables. Neither said a word as a comfortable silence fell between them while the kitchen was slowly filled with the scent of roasting venison, and fried vegetables.

~X~

Sanji laid out the venison tangine with chickpeas and could barely restrain his look of awe at how fast the rubber monstrosity could cram food into his mouth without managing to choke. The others weren't much better – how Brooke managed to get food on his forehead of all places was concerning – as they all ate with a ferocity of starving animals. The only exceptions were Nami and Robin who seemed to have accepted the fast paced eating and ignored the men while they had a calm conversation near the end of the table.

Not wanting to get caught in the splash zone of the flurry of eating, Sanji made his way to sit near the end next to Nami. The girls were discussing something Impel related, and seemed much more relaxed now that they didn't have to stop all conversation when Sanji came near. Robin was explaining some details of what had happened with Basil and Sanji tuned it out while he ate.

A hand took hold on a couple of his feathers, pulling them and causing his sensitive skin to twitch away from the hold. He quickly glanced at Nami who was holding the edge of his wing and pulling the appendage open somewhat as she inspected the feathers.

"Urgh." Nami made a small noise, "Sanji your wings are filthy."

Sanji glanced back at his wings noted that, yes they weren't as nearly white as when he had first gotten them, but they weren't dirty. He was not one to argue with a lady but found the statement a little insulting, it wasn't like he was unhygienic or anything. "They're not dirty, not exactly white but..."

"You wash them right?" Nami raised a brow.

"Of course I do." Sanji flushed, and he found his wings fluttering in slight annoyance.

"Then why are they so brown?" Nami scowled and ran her fingers over a couple feathers to ascertain that they indeed were not actually dirt ridden.

"Well it's mostly cause I can't reach." Sanji admitted lightly as he speared a couple chickpeas and popped them into his mouth. "The fronts I can get at, but the backs are impossible."

A chuckle was heard from the end of the table and Sanji hucked his fork in the moron's direction, the metal utensil deflected off the idiots head but nonetheless made its point, "Shut your face, shithead."

"Well then, Zoro can help you." Nami offered with a cheeky grin at the green-haired man who was wiping tangine from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Since when was I dubbed the babysitter?" Zoro snorted absently wiping his hand off on Luffy's shirt, the rubber boy to preoccupied to even notice.

"I do _not_ need his help." Sanji protested.

"You said you couldn't do it yourself."

"Well, no but..." Sanji faltered, the look Nami gave him was clear that arguing the point would change nothing. Glancing at Zoro for help only proved that the superhuman had accepted his fate and had turned back to his food. Sanji sighed reluctantly and shoved a large chunk of meat into his mouth, "Fine."

~X~

Once dinner was done, the dishes were washed and put away, and the kitchen had been completely cleaned Sanji found himself in the large bathroom getting rudely shoved face first into the large bathing pool. He surfaced coughing, sputtering and trying to spit up some of the water he had swallowed.

"Fucker." Sanji reached around blindly, his hair plastered over his eyes and his pants dragging him down as he tried to wade through the water. He managed to find the edge and just as he brushed the hair out of his eyes a bucket full of water was poured into his face.

"Missed a spot." Zoro muttered as Sanji was crawling out of the tub after the green menace, sopping wet wings and clothes slowing him down.

"I'll show you a missed spot you damned-"

Zoro kicked a stool toward Sanji and the blond – blind from his wet hair – nearly tripped over the damned object before recovering and righting his stance with flushed embarrassment. Zoro made a circular motion with his finger, "Turn around."

"As if." Sanji scoffed as he finally managed wipe his sopping hair from his face, "I'm not turning my back on you, you green gorilla."

"Well then how am I supposed to wash your wings?" Zoro drawled mockingly and held up a bottle of shampoo; jiggling it for emphasis.

Sanji opened his mouth to argue that he didn't trust the man as far as he could kick him but was silenced by a pointed stare and a commanding finger pointing at the stool. With a heavy sigh Sanji turned his back to Zoro – feeling extremely apprehensive – and plopped down on the stool and awaited the impending torture that the damned asshole would no doubt bestow upon him.

There was an obnoxious squirt of hair cleanser out of the bottle and then hands rested on his wing joints and began to thoroughly work the soap into the feathers. Sanji immediately melted under the touch and gave a relieved sigh as he blushed, thoroughly glad he was facing the other way.

Sanji sat on the stool, elbow propped on his knee as he rested his chin in his hand with an annoyed pout while Zoro stood behind him working on his wings. Water was dumped on a section of his wing and Zoro began working scrubbing the feathers with a generous handful of shampoo, working out the grit and dust.

Neither said anything as the job was being completed. Zoro was busy actually working and Sanji was focused on trying to not notice how amazing the hands felt on his wings. The perfect application of pressure did wonder for the muscles that were knotted and the sensitive skin was reacting badly to the gentle touch. Zoro touching him and pleasurable feelings were two ideas that shouldn't be put together. But try as he might Zoro's touch felt too good.

"Geez." Zoro muttered, more to himself than anyone else, "Curly, you should wash these more."

"Oh shut the fuck up, you green monstrosity." Sanji shot back as he glared at the opposing wall wishing it would burst into flames, "I didn't want them in the first place."

"Just because you don't want them doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of them." Zoro picked up a bucket and poured some water down the end of one wing, washing away the soap and dirt and leaving a stark white in its place, "I mean, they're kinda pretty."

Sanji cast an incredulous glance over his shoulder, "What?"

Zoro smirked and smeared a handful of the red foam over Sanji's face, "You heard me, duck."

Sanji spluttered and wiped the foam away but it was too late. The sudsy taste could not be erased from his mouth and his face and hands were wet and coated in bubbles. Zoro immediately took a couple steps back with a laugh as he knew what was coming.

"Since when do you use the word pretty?" Sanji whirled around, grabbing a handful of foam from his mid-washed wing and launching himself at Zoro.

"I do have a vocabulary." Zoro chuckled as he dodged the persistent blond, scooping up the bucket he had been using earlier and filling it full of water as he ran past the pool, "I'm not illiterate."

"You sure about that?" Sanji mocked as he tackled Zoro and smeared the red bubbles into Zoro's face. "And besides nothing about me is pretty. I'm one hundred percent manly."

"Phft." Zoro scoffed and pushed Sanji off of him, "Manly as a twelve year old girl."

Sanji rolled out of the fall and launched himself at Zoro, "Take that back!"

Zoro side stepped the blond and grabbed the bucket he had dropped earlier that still had some water in it. Sanji threw himself at Zoro again and the man jerked the bucket forward and the water hit Sanji directly in the face. Sanji coughed and sputtered as he inhaled some of the water, spitting out the soapy water with a sound of disgust. Zoro dropped the bucket as he laughed and Sanji watched the man with disdain. He flicked his wings and caused a splatter of soap to hit the man, some even getting in the idiots mouth.

"Dumbass."

Zoro gagged and spat out the shampoo and Sanji took the opportunity to attack the distracted man. He jumped up as high as the ceiling would allow and threw himself at Zoro. He kicked aside one arm, but he wasn't able to with the second and Zoro caught Sanji with a hand to his mid-section, turning him abruptly and slamming him down on the ground. He stood above Sanji, foot on either side of his hips and hand still in place on Sanji's stomach; his insane strength keeping the blond pinned.

"Ass." Sanji chuckled, though his breath was slightly stressed.

"Second time I've pinned you in a fight." Zoro mocked cheerfully, "Maybe you should take the hint and retire?"

"You're the one that keeps doing it." Sanji muttered, leg snapping out and kicking Zoro's foot. His foot slipped out on the slippery floor and Sanji manged to twist out of the way just before Zoro face-planted onto the stone. Sanji sat happily on Zoro's back in victory, "Maybe you just like having me pinned."

"Fat chance." Zoro's voice was slightly muffled by the water and bubbles on the floor that he spoke into.

From there on out it turned into a full on brawl of cheap shots and low blows that would normally be informally allowed in a fight. Fighting on slippery rock might be a bit dangerous but he was pretty sure if Zoro slipped and fell the man couldn't possibly get any stupider so he wouldn't have to worry about that idiot's safety.

Usopp poked his head into the large room, closely followed by Luffy and Chopper, "We heard yelling; is everything okay?"

Luffy took one look at the scuffle and whooped before running into the room and fully tackling Zoro who had been on top of Sanji and in the middle of rubbing a handful of soap up the blond's nose. Sanji sat up abruptly when Zoro was torn off of him and snorted out as much soap as he could manage before Usopp tackled him.

It wasn't long before Franky and Brooke had heard the noise and also joined in on the fight. Everyone's clothing was soaking wet, and more than a few people had eyes permanently shut due to shampoo and soap that had been splashed into their faces.

The door slammed open and no one took notice except for Luffy who threw a handle full of shampoo at the new arrivee. It took only a moment before everyone clued in to the fact that it could only be one person in the doorway and the following gasp of shock could only belonged to one girl.

Everyone froze in fear as Nami stood eyes closed and mouth open in shock, her face splattered with the pink hued hair cleanser. She raised a delicate hand to wipe some of the shampoo off of her eyes, flicking her hand to remove it from her fingers. All the men in the room braced for whatever punishment she was about to bestow upon them. Usopp's knees were definitely shaking in fear.

"You are _so_ getting it!"

Nami grabbed a bar of soap, hucking it at Luffy as she grabbed a bottle and ran into the room to join the fray.

~X~

Sanji sat on Zoro's bed with a towel draped casually on top of his head, his wings hung over the edge so they were above the floor and dripped onto the stone. Drying them with a towel was too much of a hassle so he chose to just let them air dry. They were now an amazing white; once the brawl had ended, everyone trekked out of the room to look for dry clothes and Zoro had finished cleaning Sanji's wings.

Zoro left had his towel hanging from his shoulders as he searched his dresser for a dry tee shirt. Once one was selected and the drawer was closed, he dragged the shirt over his head and he made his way over to the bed, throwing his used towel on Sanji's wing.

"Oi." Sanji mutter and flicked the towel off, making it hit Zoro in the face with a splat, "I'm not a clothes rack."

Zoro chuckled and threw the towel on the floor under Sanji's wings to let it soak up some of the water that was still sluicing from the feathers. Sanji's constant sass had originally annoyed him, but the more he learned how to react to it and how to out smart it the more fun he had dealing with it.

Sanji raised an eyebrow as though expecting Zoro to give a snarky come back and instead just grinned and plopped down on his bed. Times like this were the best; when Sanji would do something purposefully annoying and he would look up at Zoro like an expectant puppy for a reply. Zoro would then just not reply and internally soak up the glory of that confused look the blond would fail to hide.

Eventually Sanji seemed to give up on getting a reaction and flipped the page in the binder as he turned back to his reading.

"You're actually reading that?" Zoro asked in disbelief as he crossed his arms behind his head and shifted himself, getting comfortable. That book was ridiculously long, and literally filled with _everything_ and _anything_ that you wanted to know; and half of it was just so bloody boring.

"Unlike some people I haven't been here since the beginning." Sanji countered, not looking up from his reading, "I don't exactly know what's going on."

"How far have you gotten?"

"So far just all the floor levels." Sanji replied and Zoro glanced at the page to see Sanji currently reading the summary of the Captains at the beginning of the chapter. He hadn't personally read it but he knew that it was terribly played up and made them all sound like revolutionaries and God sends.

"Hmm. Impressive." Zoro muttered, "Think you got them memorized do you?"

Sanji didn't fall for the jab, "Mostly. Though I was actually looking for places that they might keep children."

Zoro was silent for moment trying to guess why Sanji would be interested in something like that. His first thought was that perhaps Sanji had a child, but that idea was quickly cast aside, the blond neither looked mature enough to already have a kid or even interested in having one. "Why?"

"I want to find a little girl that I met while in there."

"And you think she's still alive?" Zoro asked and though he honestly tried to sound sincere the question just came out condescending. He wanted to kick himself right after he had said it.

"I don't know." Sanji mumbled, "But she gave me incentive to escape, I owe it to look for her. Or at least give her a proper grave."

Zoro didn't reply. Partly because he wouldn't really know what to say if he did and also because if he did open his mouth he knew he would say something discouraging. True it was admirable that Sanji cared so much for someone he had met in Impel, but what were the odds that she was still alive? People died daily by the thousands in that place and he hoped to find a little girl? It seemed like a waste.

Sanji continued reading through the Abstract about the Captains at the beginning of the chapter before a frown slowly worked it's way on to his face. "So the Captains are all the Supernova?"

"Yup. Mostly just because we've been around the longest and know the most of what is going on."

Sanji eyed the Captains list again and frowned.

"Where's the missing one?"

Zoro sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair before mumbling quietly, "Bonney."

"Who?"

Zoro sighed as he vaguely remembered that pink haired woman who had broken out with the rest of them and had been so strong willed and confident. He hadn't even had the chance to thank her for saving him from getting shot when they had all been in the midst of escaping.

"When we escaped she was the one who volunteered to go find civilization and bring help, she was the most normal looking of all of us and calm headed."

"And?" Sanji asked after hearing the unspoken 'but' at the end of Zoro's sentence.

"She disappeared." Zoro explained quietly, she had left almost immediately to go get medical help, media, the police, anything. They were going to expose Impel to the entire world and in the end they had just waited for weeks with no reply. When their wounds had finally healed Zoro and a few others had went to search and find out what was wrong, "We found out she had gotten taken in by Black Ops. That's when the whole conspiracy came to light."

Sanji didn't say anything – for once – just stared quietly and waited for Zoro to continue. Though Zoro honestly didn't know what he was supposed to say. Once everything had been brought to light it had felt like the world had fallen out from under his feet and that he was drowning.

"She – we've search everywhere for her – Rayliegh has been snooping around everywhere but we haven't seen her since. I didn't know her that well – I hadn't even had a conversation with her – but she was definitely the tipping point that made us all start to cooperate. When she disappeared and we realized what was actually going on and that we were basically up against the entire world." Zoro chuckled, "It really made everyone more level headed and committed."

Sanji nodded slowly as he seemed to take in the new information and seemed to sense Zoro's want to not continue on the subject. Instead he smiled lightly and glanced down at the book and ran his finger over a certain paragraph, "You never mentioned that that little _escape_ of yours was actually the Breakout."

Zoro shrugged, "It didn't really seem important."

"Usopp explained it." Sanji smiled, "Seems to think you're this epic hero or some shit."

Zoro actually laughed, "I'm no hero. Fuck, I'm the opposite."

"I think you're a hero." Sanji mumbled quietly as seemed to forcefully be looking down at the text.

"What?" Zoro got caught somewhere between a laugh and a snort and instead ended up making an odd sort of choking sound. He recovered and just gifted Sanji with an incredulous look. "Why?"

"You saved my life." Sanji admitted as he glanced up at Zoro. Zoro swallowed thickly at the innocent and completely honest expression on the man's face, "If that's not a hero, then what is that?"

"Good timing?" Zoro offered, trying to use humour to cover for the uncomfortable embarrassment that was that was threatening to expose itself on his cheeks in the form of a blush.

"Bull." Sanji laughed, "Shit."

"Not kidding." Zoro grinned, "I'd actually gotten turned around and couldn't find the base, next thing I know there's sirens wailing and then this half-naked man with wings almost falls on me."

There was a long silence where Sanji watched Zoro impassively and he couldn't decipher what could possibly be going on in the blond's brain. Lines began to form from Sanji's brows drawing together and it seemed like he was trying to hold in some emotion. When the frown deepening Zoro was actually worried that he had offended the man, but then a small snicker was heard and Sanji fell over clutching his gut as he completely fell into hysterics.

"Why are _you_ laughing?" Zoro asked in complete disbelief. That would be the last response he would expect from the temperamental blond. Maybe a rant about taking a compliment. Our a fit about being a rude ass. Certainly, not the blond rolling around on the bed as he pointed at Zoro and laughed.

"You – you -" Sanji choked on his words, and he fell into a completely new round of laughter, "You got _lost_?!"

Zoro's eyes widened at the realization that the damned blond was making fun of him, "Shut up."

"No." Sanji pushed himself up and wiped away a tear, still catching his breath from his giggles, "Oh no no no. This is too fucking precious."

"Oh fuck you." Zoro snarled without any venom and tackled the blond-haired, crouching over him as he playfully battled with the blond's arms and legs. Pushing the annoying limbs aside to pinch the annoying blond, "It's a confusing forest."

Sanji just relapsed into a new fit of chuckles as he continued to fight back, planting one foot to Zoro's chest and kicking, "It's a valley. Look for the fucking mountain."

"I said shut up." Zoro muttered through a grin as he finally got a hold of one of Sanji's hands and promptly shoved it against the blond's face, "Stop hitting yourself."

Sanji looked incredulous for a moment before attempting to reef his hand away to no avail. Zoro kept up the immature hitting and chuckled as Sanji struggled. A knee to the ribs and foot in the face had Zoro conceding and he reluctantly let go. The frazzled blond sat back up; hair in a static mess, clothes askew, and his cheeks burning from a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

And in that moment Zoro wanted to kiss Sanji.

He wanted to grab that strong jaw and drag his face to Zoro's and press his lips to those stupid, talkative ones. Hold him close as his hands could run over that pale skin that was always on display since the stupid blond never wore a fucking shirt, or stroke those soft feathers on his wings that he had just been washing an hour previous. Keep the blond in his arms and for once not having him fighting every fucking step of the way and just hold him back.

Sanji noted the silence and raised an eyebrow as his scintillate blue eyes watched him curiously. "What?"

"Nothing." Zoro lied and pushed Sanji's binder off the bed in attempt to take his restraint out on something. It fell with a clatter and landed with the pages crumpling into the stone, Sanji just stared at the empty spot on the bed looking at a loss for words.

"God, you're like a child." Sanji muttered and leaned over to grab the book only to have Zoro promptly shove him off the bed as well.

Sanji lay on the floor, face and wings holding him up as his feet still hung from the bed.

It resulted in another brawl but Zoro didn't stop grinning the entire time.

* * *

TBC...

A/N: Sorry about the delay :(


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